The Source of Happy Endings
by evl-rgl
Summary: Set after the Season 4 finale. Emma's disappearance after becoming the Dark One rattles the citizens of Storybrooke. As everyone teeters on the edge of losing hope, Regina continues searching for a way to save Emma. With each dead end, Regina feels her own hope slipping away. Someone is standing in her way, but can she find out who before it's too late and Emma is lost for good?
1. Chapter 1

Hello everyone! This is my first attempt at fanfiction, as well as my first creative writing project in more than five years. I don't have a beta, so I apologize for any mistakes (I proofread, but I likely missed some errors). I have a lot planned for this and I hope that you enjoy it!

PS – Although this chapter is all about Blue and August, the story will focus mainly on Emma and Regina.

I do not own _Once Upon A Time_ or any of its characters.

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Chapter 1: Prologue

Blue stared down at August's sleeping form. For a moment, the stone face she always wore melted away as she gently placed a hand on the man's rough cheek. Pinocchio had always tugged at her heart in a way that others could not. Although Gepetto believed that she had given Pinocchio life—and she was content to let him continue believing that was the case—she knew that she had only given him the means to live as a human, that he had been living long before she intervened.

{Begin Flashback}

Pinocchio's life had actually begun when a squirrel buried an acorn directly above a vein of magic diamonds. A harsh rain caused the seed to sink further into the soil, positioning it only inches from the potent magic source. As roots sprouted, they absorbed a great deal of the magic from the diamonds, enchanting the seedling. The magic gave the now enchanted tree a number of very strange qualities. For one, it grew incredibly fast. The seedling reached two meters in height after only a few weeks of life. Second, unlike any of the other trees, this tree could feel emotions. This ability to feel was what first led Blue to it.

Decades earlier, Blue had removed the trees and other plant life from areas where diamond deposits were developing. She knew that allowing plants to grow over the diamonds might enchant them, and the magic absorbed by those plants would not be under her control. To avoid having such powerful magic fall into the wrong hands, she had decided that it was best to isolate and contain the magic diamond deposits until they were ready to be mined and then controlled by Blue and the other fairies. She had made the land above the diamond mines dry and rocky, making it impossible for anything to grow. Even if any seeds sprouted, the lack of moisture and nutrients killed them off quickly. However, the dry dirt above the diamond mine had become loose over the years, allowing Pinocchio's acorn to slip close enough for the magic to nurture it.

When she first spotted the little tree, she had planned to pull it up by the roots and burn it immediately. She could sense how much magic it had absorbed, and she was afraid of what might happen if the wrong person were to stumble upon it. She flew down to the sapling and tried to pull it up from the soil. She flicked her wand upward. The tree shifted slightly as her magic tugged at it. She flicked her wand upward a second time. On this attempt, she was suddenly overwhelmed by someone's desperate cries for help. She'd always been able to sense the emotions and desires of the beings in the Enchanted Forest; it was how she knew who needed her help. She could sense that these cries were different, though. There was something about them that was distinct from the emotions of human and other animals of her realm. After a few minutes, the cries started to fade, and she assumed that whatever had prompted such extreme emotions was gone. She turned her attention to the tree once more, flicking her wand upward and being overwhelmed by the desperation once more. Blue stumbled backward, falling onto the ground.

She stared up at the tree. _No_ , she thought. _It couldn't be._ She flicked her wand again, but not as hard as she had in her previous attempts. The cries began once more. She lowered her wand and the cries ceased. _It's the tree! The crying is coming from the tree!_ Blue thought for several moments about how to proceed. She couldn't remove the tree, its pain and fear would overwhelmed her, making it impossible for her to pull it up.

After several minutes of contemplating whether there was another way to eliminate the sapling, Blue's thoughts were interrupted by another wave of the tree's emotions. It was lonely. It was alone and afraid. Blue place a hand on the trunk of the tree to steady herself. As she did, the tree became delighted. Mistaking Blue's attempt to steady herself as a comforting gesture, the little tree was please that, for the first time in its short life, it was receiving kindness. Blue had been granting wishes and helping beings in the Enchanted Forest for centuries. Most were grateful for whatever they received, but it was the outcome and not her that they appreciated. No one even bothered to think of the fairies until they were in need. Blue was happy to help them, but sometimes she longed for someone, anyone really, to appreciate _her_ and not her utility. For the first time in her vast life, she was able to mirror the emotion that she was sensing. She no longer felt alone.

{End Flashback}

Blue could hear the Charmings barrelling up the stairs of the convent, likely on their way to visit August. She quickly removed her hand from the man's face and allowed the emotionless expression to wash over her face once more. Although August would never remember that it was the Blue Fairy who had comforted him all those years ago when he was still just a sapling, Blue remembered. It was that connection that prevented her from eliminating him when he stumbled up her and the Sorcerer's secret several years earlier during his time in Phuket. Even now, when she knew that he could make all her plans unravel, she couldn't bring herself to get rid of him.

{Begin Flashback}

When he'd first come to her in Storybrooke, he told her what he had learned and she begged him not to tell anyone. He used it to try and threaten her into changing him back into a man. She knew that if the Sorcerer were to find out that August knew their secret, that he would kill him. She told August to hide in the woods for his own safety. When she found him, nearly dead from trying to save Emma from Tamara, her heart almost shattered. She should have let him go, and then her secret would have been safe. She couldn't lose him, though. He was all she had, even if he didn't know it.

He'd been selfless, brave, and true; according to the rules of her own spell, she could save him. If she turned him back into a man the man he was, though, then he would still be in danger. No, she would turn him into the boy he was before, the boy who knew nothing of her secrets. The Sorcerer would never need to know about August.

{End Flashback}

Blue pulled two items out of her pocket: a small purple stone and a vile of pixie dust. She leaned close to August holding the purple stone directly above his head. "I'm sorry," she whispered as she watched the purple stone siphon out his memories of what she and the Sorcerer had done. "I am so, so sorry."

The process of removing his memories shook August from his slumber, but only slightly; he was far too weak to be fully conscious. Years later, he would remember that moment as the Blue Fairy apologizing for taking his memories. However, Blue's apology was of a different nature. From the first time they met until that moment, she saw that her meddling kept causing him pain and difficulty. Afraid that turning the puppet into a real boy would mean losing her only friend, the Blue Fairy had refused his wish, setting a chain of events into motion that almost ended in both Pinocchio and Gepetto's deaths. It was her who had allowed Gepetto to send Pinocchio to Maine when he was only a small child. It was her who had turned him back into a boy, using up nearly all of the magic left in his body that he had retained from when he was still an enchanted tree. Turning him back into a boy that time was what was killing him now; there just wasn't enough magic left in his body to sustain him.

After the last of his memories of her secret were removed, Blue slipped the purple stone into her pocket. She poured the contents of the vile into her palm and waited until the pixie dust began to glow blue. Carefully, she held out the pixie dust beneath August's nose and watched him inhale it. This was the last of the pixie dust left in Storybrooke. It was the most powerful magic she had and she knew that it was foolish to use it all just to keep August alive, but she didn't care. She wouldn't lose him.

August inhaled the last of the pixie dust just as the Charmings reached his room. Blue explained August's chances of recovery to the Charmings and then left. She walked quickly into her study in the basement, locking the door behind her. She waived her hand and revealed a secret compartment in the floor beneath the hearth of the fireplace. She opened the compartment and placed the memory stone on top of one of the several storybooks that were hidden inside. She paused for a moment before closing the compartment to place her hand on a dried leaf that she kept hidden in the cover of one of the books. With a wave of her hand, she concealed the compartment beneath the hearth. The Sorcerer would never need to hear about this, nor would he need to know of her past with August.


	2. Chapter 2

Hello again! This chapter is a bit longer than the prologue. I hope you enjoy it!

I do not own _Once Upon A Time_ or any of its characters.

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Chapter 2

It had been two months since anyone had seen Emma. Two months since she disappeared in a cloud of black smoke. For the first few weeks, it seemed like everyone was proposing ways to save Emma from the darkness. The Charmings, in their frantic effort to find a way to save their daughter, had decided that all ideas should be considered. Regina conjured a large board in front of the town hall on which they listed all of the potential methods for saving Emma. One by one, the suggestions were struck from the list. After a month of trying everything they could think of, almost all of the ideas had been eliminated. One of the few that remained read, "Write the darkness out of the story." It was Henry's suggestion. He knew, deep down, that it wasn't possible, but he wanted so badly to have his mother back that he almost didn't care about the consequences. Not that it mattered, though, because Henry had broken the magic quill that would have allowed him to try; a realization that led to his recent emotional breakdown.

When Henry's suggestion had been one of two that were left on the list, he'd run to grab the broken quill, the ink, and one of the storybooks. He used the half of the quill that was attached to the nib to write on one of the blank pages. When that hadn't worked, Regina had used magic to reattach the two halves of the quill. Henry wrote in the book again, but still nothing changed. To test whether or not it was that writing away the darkness was impossible or if the quill simply was not working, Henry had tried using the quill to change other things. He'd tried making different objects appear, changing minor details about existing objects, and so on, but nothing happened; the quill was no longer working. Henry had fallen apart right there in the town square. Regina picked him her teenage son and transported both of them home. It had been three weeks since Henry had left the house or said anything to anyone. No matter what Regina said, she couldn't convince him that what happened wasn't his fault.

After the town watched Henry fall apart, people quickly began to lose hope that they would ever find a way to save Emma. The only other idea that was left on the board was, "True love's kiss," which was Hook and Belle's suggestion. They hadn't had the opportunity to try it, however, because no one had yet been able to summon Emma. Thus, the efforts to save Emma had dwindled, until eventually all but a handful of people had given up.

Regina sat on the bench in front of the town hall, glaring at the suggestion board. For the last two weeks, she'd been the only one still trying to find Emma. Snow had a nervous breakdown and wouldn't leave her apartment, nor would she let Neal leave. David would venture out from time to time, but only to get groceries and to see how Henry was doing. Belle was busy tending to Rumple, who was still in a coma. Killian still came to see Regina from time to time, to see if she'd found anything new, but he'd quickly realized that there was too much about the situation that he didn't understand. He helped Regina get any books or materials that she needed, but he was afraid that there wasn't much he could do outside of that. Regina had assured him that he was, in fact, doing more than he realized. Killian, despite having lost Emma, was using the majority of his energy to stay strong and care for Emma's family as they struggled through dealing with her absence. Even if he didn't realize it, just being their and trying to give them hope was keeping Emma's loved ones from giving up completely. Regina tried to remind him of how he was helping, but she got the impression that he didn't believe her. She could see the hope slowly fading from him, and that terrified her. If they all lost hope then Emma truly would be gone forever. Regina knew that they were running out of time.

The previous night, she'd cast a spell on Henry that replaced his memories of his life with memories of living in New York with Killian, who he would believe was his adoptive father. Regina had decided to send Killian and Henry over the town line to stay in New York until she found something. She told Killian that she would update him daily about whatever she found that might help Emma, and that she would tell him when she was close enough to finding a solution for he and Henry to return. It killed Regina to send her son away again, but she knew that he was getting worse each day that he was in Storybrooke. She also knew that she couldn't go with him. With Rumple in a coma, she was the only one who knew enough about the Dark One and magic to be able to find a way to save Emma. She also knew that she owed it to Emma to save her. So, in the middle of the night, with Henry asleep in the passenger seat of the yellow bug, Killian at the wheel, Regina watched her son leave with no memory of her for the second time. She hadn't slept since that moment. Going home and seeing his room empty was not something that she could handle. Instead, she'd stayed in her vault, pretending that perhaps her books had rewritten themselves and now contained the answers she needed. Of course, they didn't. In her frustration, she'd gone to the town hall and thrown at fireball at the suggestion board. She'd destroyed most of the board, not that it mattered, since all but Killian's idea had been crossed off. There was no point in keeping a record of how many times they'd failed to save Emma. She then retired to her office for the remainder of the night to look through the books she kept there for a second time, as well.

Regina had left her office just as the sun was peeking over the trees. She was tired and needed to rest. She also knew that Robin was probably worried about her, since she hadn't spoken to him since she told him Henry would be leaving with Killian. Robin wasn't given an explanation as to why; he didn't ask and Regina wouldn't say. Seeing that Regina was just barely keeping it together as Killian carried Henry down the stairs, Robin knew that this was not the time to ask for an explanation. He'd given her shoulder a tight squeeze and told her that he'd be there when she got back.

As she crossed the lawn in front of the building to get to her car, Regina looked over her shoulder to see the damage she'd done to the suggestion board in the light of day. That's when she noticed the detail that had prompted her glaring. Sometime after she'd gone into her office, someone had written something on the board. Well, it wasn't really written so much as carved into the charred remains of the board, "under the fire."

Was this some kind of joke? What did that even mean?! Regina was tempted to burn the board to cinders, but something in the back of her mind stopped her. There was something about the message that was nagging at her, but she couldn't put her finger on what it was exactly. That nagging feeling was what had kept Regina on the bench. She was tempted to go home to Robin, to save contemplating this cryptic message until later that day, but she could think of more reasons not to leave than to do so. In addition to not wanting to see Henry's empty room, Regina didn't want to face the guilt of laying next to her true love knowing that Emma was still out there somewhere, being consumed by the darkest magic in existence. Regina pulled the page of she and Robin kissing out of her pocket. It didn't seem fair that she should get to be happy at the expense of not only Emma's happiness, but also Emma's family's happiness. She stared down at the now very familiar illustration, wondering why finding her happiness always seemed to be at the expense of everyone else's. _At least this time it wasn't on purpose_ , she thought to herself. She looked up from the page, wondering if she and Robin really could be happy in the wake of what happened.

"What've you got there?" August came walking over to Regina with two coffees in hand.

"It's…It's a page from the book that Robin found. I thought it meant that my happiness was possible, but I'm starting to think that it's just a cruel joke." August offered one of the coffees to Regina, which she took and then handed him the page.

"Huh," August huffed as he examined the edge of the page. "Did you rip this—"

"Yes, I ripped up the page when Robin left with Zelena after the whole Snow Queen ordeal," Regina cut him off. "That's not important."

August paused for a moment, recognizing that Regina was on edge from all the stress. He'd interacted with Regina enough to understand that she would lash out when she was hurting. If he wasn't careful, he knew he wouldn't be able to get any more information about the page. "Okay…" He paused again as he tried to determine how best to proceed. "Why did you rip it out of the book?" he asked, running his finger over the left edge of the page.

"What do you mean? It was never in a book."

"It clearly was, Madame Mayor." August held up the edge of the page for Regina to see. "See this fraying here? Each page of the storybook is printed on the same sheet of paper as another, then the larger sheet is folded in half, and the pages of the book are all bound together by sewing along the crease." Regina looked at him sceptically, as though she wasn't sure just how the former puppet knew about bookbinding. "I took apart Henry's storybook to add in the Pinocchio story."

"Right," Regina sighed as she remembered that Henry had told her about the Pinocchio story before.

"So, this fraying means that someone ripped this page away from the one it was attached to. Someone took this out the storybook."

"That's not possible. Page 23 is already in Henry's storybook. This page could not—"

"Have come from _Henry's_ storybook," August finished for her.

Regina stopped for a moment, confused about what August was implying. "But we checked every book in the Sorcerer's mansion before Isaac tried to rewrite everyone's stories. All of the books are blank."

"Well," August thought for a moment, "Are we sure there aren't any books hidden somewhere else? From what I can tell, Henry's book doesn't cover the entire history of the Enchanted Forest. There must have been other authors."

"Which means there must be other books," Regina said as she started to think more about what that would mean. "No one has ever seen another storybook before, at least not one that contains writing."

"Really? I would have figured someone around here would have. There are certainly enough magical, seemingly immortal beings around here, I would have thought at least one of them had been alive long enough to have been in more than one book. Although, I guess we didn't ever see the storybook when we were back in the Enchanted Forest" August closed his eyes, leaned back, and took a long sip of his coffee. For a moment, he'd thought that maybe, just maybe, the realization about the page might have been a breakthrough. Without open his eyes, he tried to offer the page back to Regina. When she didn't take it from him, he opened his eyes and looked over at her. She was staring straight ahead looking as though she's just had an epiphany. "What is it? Did you see the storybook back when we were in the Enchanted Forest?"

"No," Regina replied. "But I know a seemingly immortal being who already knew about the author before we asked her." Regina took the page from August and stood up from the bench. "I think I've got someone I need to see."

"Oh yeah?" he grinned. "Who?"

"The Blue Fairy." Regina smiled, partially because she sensed that she was finally making progress, and partially because this seemed like an adequate enough reason to give Blue hell for not having bothered trying to help save Emma in the first place.

• • •

The Apprentice opened his eyes and stared up at the unfamiliar ceiling. Where was he? He'd never been in this place before. How had he gotten here? The last thing he remembered was having tried to put the darkness in the Sorcerer's hat. He sat up, looking around the small room and then out the window. The lawn seemed familiar somehow, but he couldn't recall ever having seen it from this angle.

"I told you to tell me what you know about the books! You're lying to me, I know it!"

The Apprentice could hear someone yelling from the floor below. Slowly, he got up and walked into the hall. He quietly walked to the top of the stairs where he could see the two women arguing.

"I have nothing to say to you, Madame Mayor—"

"Oh cut the crap, Blue. You knew about the author before any of us even considered that he might exist. You knew and you never said anything! And now you're keeping you mouth shut again and avoiding everyone when you might be able to help us save Emma!"

"As I said before, I have nothing to say to you, Madame Mayor." Blue turned away from Regina. "I don't throw in my lot with those who have given into the darkness, and I certainly won't help someone as dark as you Regina. Now that the Dark One is no longer in Storybrooke, you're the darkest one here, and with Emma gone, how long before you slip back into your old ways?" Blue knew that would fire her up. She waited a moment for Regina to explode, but she turned around when she realized that it wasn't happening.

"What do you mean, 'not in Storybrooke'?" Regina said in a calm voice. Although she did not raise her voice, the look in her eyes made her soft tone terrifying.

"I…um…I guess I just figured that…well, because no one has been able to summon her that she must be in another realm." Blue was nervous. She was hiding something, and Regina could see that she was not hiding it well.

"And you didn't think that was worth sharing with the rest of us?" Regina could feel her blood starting to boil.

"I told you, I don't help people who have given into the darkness—"

"Emma didn't give into the darkness, she was consumed by it! She too it into herself to save all of us!"

"I meant _you_ , Madame Mayor. I am not going to help someone like you."

"Someone like me? I came back from the darkness, didn't I?"

"It doesn't work that way—"

"Of course it does! People can change! How do you, with all of your infinite wisdom," she gestured sarcastically, "not get that?!"

"Oh really? Then why are you still using dark magic if you have truly turned away from the darkness?" Blue shot back at her. She assumed that would get Regina to shut her mouth.

"I-I'm not," Regina said, looking confused.

"What?"

"I can use light magic. That's how I overpowered Zelena after the second curse."

"Right, sure. I'll believe it when I see it." Blue started to walk out of the room. As she walked through the doorway she told Regina, "Close the door on your way out, I'm finished talking to you."

"Wait!" Regina pleaded, holding out her hands, but Blue had already walked into her study and closed the door behind her. Regina stood in the entryway for a moment, staring down at her hands. The bright light from the white magic she had summoned illuminated the whole room, as well as the staircase where the Apprentice was still sitting. Regina sighed and closed her hands, making the light disappear. She was tired, and this was getting her nowhere. She turned and left the convent, feeling the full weight of her guilt over Emma's fate even more so, now that realized she had actually not gotten any closer to helping Emma.

A few minutes after Regina left, the Blue Fairy came back to the entryway and locked the front door. She did not want the former Evil Queen coming back to bother her.

"She used light magic, you know," the Apprentice said from his place on the stairs. "Just as you turned your back on her, she was actually showing you that she'd changed." He waited a moment for what he had said to sink in before continuing, "You know that only pure intentions can fuel that kind of magic."

Blue stared at the Apprentice, saying nothing in response.

"You can fool all of them," he said with a smirk, "but you can't fool me. You're afraid of something. Something has changed and you're not quite sure what to do, are you?" He chuckled to himself, knowing that he was right and that there was nothing she could do to stop what had been put into motion.

• • •

Regina closed the door quietly behind her as she entered her home. It was still very early and she was sure that Robin and Roland were still asleep; at least she was certain of that until she saw Robin waiting for her in the kitchen. He was seated at the island reading a book. She slumped into the seat next to him, not sure how to feel about anything that had happened in the last twelve hours. Robin waited for Regina to speak or act; he wasn't sure what she was feeling, and he knew that comforting her would only be helpful if that was what she wanted.

"How did we get here, Robin?" Regina said with a defeated tone as she rested her head on Robin's shoulder. He turned, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her onto his lap. She curled into him, burying her face in chest and holding onto the back of his shoulders. Finally, after hours of holding herself together, Regina allowed herself to fall apart in Robin's arms.

Robin held Regina as she cried. She didn't want to talk and he didn't push her, so they stayed that way until Regina gave into sleep. He carried Regina to their bedroom where he continued to hold her as he slowly moved them both beneath the blankets. Robin stayed with her as she slept, watching as the stress of the day that she wore on her face was replaced with the peace of sleep.

Regina had counted her experiences that day as yet another collection of setbacks. She saw the encounter with Blue as less than helpful, but the Apprentice saw things differently. He knew Regina was getting close.


	3. Chapter 3

Hello again! The first two chapters were pretty slow, but the plot is going to move a bit faster starting with this chapter. Thanks for reading!

I do not own _Once Upon A Time_ or any of its characters.

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Chapter 3

Emma kept her eyes shut as she lay on the damp floor of her cell. It had been a few hours since the last guard had come by with food, and she new her next meal should be on its way. That is, if her captors were still planning to give her food at all. She grinned to herself as she remembered her interaction with the guard that morning: he'd leaned forward to slide the bowl beneath the bars and just as his head came within a few inches of her cell door, she'd leapt at him, thrust her hand into his chest and squeezed. One of her green eyes cracked open to admire the small dust pile that was left from crushing the heart. Certainly she felt guilt at having taken the man's life, but it was buried so deep beneath the dark pleasure she experienced that it was barely noticeable. After all, the guard brought it upon himself; if he didn't want his heart ripped out, then why give her the opportunity? He should have stayed further back like the other guards had learned to do.

• • •

While attempting to balance three rather large grocery bags in his arms, David closed the door to his truck and started to walk toward the apartment building. It certainly would have been nice to have some help, but his wife was still refusing to leave the house and he was tired of the pitying looks that he got from everyone else. He sighed as he fumbled with his keys, trying to slip them into the lock on the front door of the building without being able to see his hands.

"You know, dear, you could always ask for some help," a familiar voice lectured to him from behind.

"I can handle it, thanks," he said, the frustration obvious in his voice. He struggled with the keys for a few more moments. "Is there something you want, Regina?" he asked, finally giving up and setting the bags on the ground.

"I think I found something."

"Really?" he asked with feigned curiosity. "Like all the other times you said you found something? Should I run and tell my wife so that she can get her hopes for a few hours before you come back to tell us that whatever you found didn't pan out? Again." He knew she was trying, but part of him blamed her for his daughter being gone. Emma took in that darkness to save Regina. Sure, he could entertain that she did it for the town as well, but the town would have been just as fine if she'd just let the darkness consume Regina. Emma was gone because she saved Regina, and it was beginning to look like there was no way of getting her back. In David's mind, he'd now lost his daughter for the second time because of Regina. "Leave us alone, Regina." Picking up his groceries again, he opened the door and walked into the building.

"Wait. Please," Regina pleaded. She stuck her arm in the doorway, preventing David from closing it. "I spoke to Blue yesterday—"

"And she also didn't know anything. She told Snow and I weeks ago that she didn't know anything about what had happened to Emma or how to bring her back." His temper was beginning to get the better of him. Regina looked confused about something that he had just said. "What? Are you surprised that Snow and I went to someone other than _you_ for help with this?"

"No, I just—"

"I don't have time to hear about your most recent attempt to redeem yourself. Emma is gone, Regina, and it's because of you. Now, I have to go take care of my wife and son, if you don't mind" he said as he turned away from her again.

"Charming! Listen—"

"Not that caring for a loved one is something you'd even understand," he continued. "Your version of caring for Henry was sending him away with a pirate you barely know!" He didn't have to turn around to know that Regina was done speaking. That last comment should have cut deep enough to keep her away for a while. David knew that what he'd said was out of line, but, in that moment, he was too angry to care.

Regina watched David walk up the stairs to the apartment. She pulled the door to the building closed and turned to walk in the direction of town hall. He was angry, she understood that, but she was running out of people to help her understand the information she'd come across. It had been a few days since her encounter with Blue and she'd spent most of that time in Rumple's shop pouring over books about the history of Dark One. Eventually, Belle had gotten fed up with Regina's presence in the shop and she "generously" gave all of the relevant books to Regina to take with her. Regina was starting to feel like her presence was wanted anywhere in Storybrooke.

After many of the townspeople began to lose hope that they'd ever get Emma back, they'd started blaming Regina for losing Emma at all. For a little while, Regina had tried defending herself against their accusations, but eventually she stopped trying. If they wanted to blame her, then fine. It wasn't as though being hated by everyone was new for her. At least it meant she could concentrate on finding Emma without being interrupted.

The charred sign still sat on the lawn in front of the town hall. Regina paused in front of it for a moment, looking at the carved message yet again. She was close to accepting that the message was someone playing cruel joke on her, as none of her research had turned up anything related to fire, let alone something that would be underneath a fire. Regina closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose; she could feel another headache coming.

"Something wrong, Madame Mayor?" an unusually cheery voice prompted.

"I assume that's a rhetorical question." She was in no mood for this much pep today. "What do you want, Nova?"

"Nothing." Nova could tell that Regina's patience was already wearing thin, so she didn't have much time to talk. "What happened to the sign?"

"I didn't need a reminder of all how many times we've failed to find Emma." She sighed, letting go of some of irritation. "I set it on fire."

"Oh my! That doesn't sound good," Nova said, covering her mouth. Regina shot her a look. "Um…Actually, I was asking about what was written on it. Did someone come up with another idea?"

"I doubt it. It looks like someone is playing some kind of joke."

"Oh," Nova said sadly. "I got excited when I thought someone had come up with something helpful."

"Yeah," Regina sighed. She knew all too well how it felt to get her hopes up about new information. Her most recent lead, that Emma might be in another realm, was also beginning to seem as though it would not go anywhere. "Have any of the fairies come up with anything?" Blue might not be willing to give her any information, but Regina figured that it couldn't hurt to ask Nova.

"No. I guess Blue hasn't had any contact with the Sorcerer in decades." Nova shrugged.

"What? The Sorcerer? Why would she be trying to contact the Sorcerer at all?"

"Because the Sorcerer was the one who created the Dark One in the first place. If anyone would know what's happened to Emma, it would be the Sorcerer," Nova nodded to herself.

"And none of you thought to mention this sooner?!" Regina was furious.

"I'm sorry. You know how Blue is about not helping people who have given into the darkness." Regina's face twitched at Nova's last sentence. "Some of us know better, though, Regina," Nova said as she placed a hand on Regina's shoulder. She smiled warmly before releasing her shoulder and walking away.

Confused about what Nova had meant by her last comment, Regina stood on the lawn, eyebrows furrowed, staring at nothing in particular. She wasn't sure what she wanted to do more, go back to Gold's shop to ask for books on the Sorcerer, or go to convent for what would likely be another yelling match with Blue. Initially, she went to Gold's shop, but after finding that the shop contained no books on the Sorcerer, Regina stalked to the convent.

• • •

Blue found the Apprentice's presence at the convent maddening. She couldn't throw him out without rousing suspicion from the townspeople and fairies, but she was also clearly displeased about his being there. For the first time in centuries, someone was living in her home that did not have to obey her rules and commands, and there was nothing she could do about it. Moreover, she suspected that the Apprentice's intentions were less than friendly. Blue wasn't certain, but she got the impression that the Apprentice was no longer on the same side as she and the Sorcerer. For the time being, she planned to keep a close eye on him.

Both Blue and the Apprentice were seated in the front room of the convent, not acknowledging each other's presence. Blue focused her attention on the book in front of her, pretending not to notice that the Apprentice was there. She hadn't spoken to him since Regina's visit, nor did she have any intention of doing so. The Apprentice was clever, otherwise the Sorcerer never would have agreed to train him, but she knew that there were still a number of secrets that the Sorcerer kept from his apprentice. If she wasn't careful, Blue might accidentally let some of those secrets slip out.

Unlike the Blue Fairy, the Apprentice was enjoying his time at the convent. He had learned a great deal about what the Sorcerer and Blue Fairy had done to manipulate the citizens of the Enchanted Forest, but he was aware that Blue wasn't sure exactly how much he knew. She was trying to be careful, trying to prevent him from either learning more about her activities with the Sorcerer or from sharing what he already knew with the citizens of Storybrooke. For the moment, the Apprentice wasn't in much of a position to leave the convent; he was still weak from being taken over by the darkness and could not walk very far without becoming exhausted. Because he wasn't mobile, he couldn't tell anyone what he knew—at least, not yet. The Apprentice new that Blue feared his impending recovery, and he was quite enjoying watching her squirm each time she was reminded of his presence. The Apprentice loudly sipped some tea from his cup, breaking Blue's concentration. She jumped slightly at the noise. Yes, he was certainly enjoying his time at the convent.

He looked out over the front lawn of the convent marvelling at how, despite Blue's and the fairy's reputations for being a force of good in the world and helping those who were in need, almost no one ever came to see them. Just as he'd prepared himself for another afternoon without visitors, the Apprentice saw someone turning the corner and walking up the path to the convent. It was Regina, who looked as though she was preparing herself for another sparing match with Blue. The Apprentice stayed silent. If he acknowledged Regina's presence, then Blue might lock the door or do something else to avoid having to talk to her. He glanced over at Blue to see if she'd noticed the person making their way up the front steps. Luckily, she was facing away from the window.

Regina burst through the door, taking large strides in Blue's direction. "You're not telling us everything you know! And don't try to pretend that this is about some bias you have against me. I know that you lied to the Charmings, as well!" Regina's hands were shaking, half from fury and half from lack of sleep.

"I have not lied, Regina" Blue said with an annoyed and slightly condescending tone. Blue looked up from her book and realized that the Apprentice was still in the room, seated only a handful of steps behind Regina. The Apprentice had just regained consciousness a few days ago and, because the convent rarely received visitors, no one else was aware that he was awake. She couldn't let Regina talk to him, though. The Apprentice could not be aloud to share what he knew with the former Evil Queen. She had to act quickly. "If it would give you peace of mind, why don't we go down to my study to discuss this? I did try to help the Charmings after they came to me, and anything I found is down there." Blue walked out of the room, away from where the Apprentice was seated.

"So you did find something," Regina scolded. As she followed Blue to her study, Regina realized that it was strange that Blue was giving her information now after she's been so adamant about not helping her the last time they spoke. "Wait," Regina said as she stopped walking. "Why are you helping me now?"

"I'm not. I haven't found anything. However, you seem so intent to not believe me that I fear the only way to make you leave me be is by showing you that I have, in fact, not found anything." Blue opened the office door and started to make her way down the narrow staircase. "This is everything I used when I was trying to help the Charmings," Blue said, pointing at the desk in the back corner. There were books and loose scraps of paper piled high on the small table, making it appear as though Blue had gone through a great deal of effort. However, Blue knew very well that none of the information on the desk was at all useful; it was, after all, the same information she'd shown to the Charmings several weeks earlier when she told them that there was nothing she could do. "Take as long as you'd like, but when you hit the same dead end as I did, please don't set anything in here on fire."

"Thank you." Something about this situation still seemed off to Regina, but then again, everything involving the Blue Fairy felt somewhat off to her.

"Close the office door behind you when you leave," Blue instructed as she left Regina alone in the small office. Blue walked quickly back to the front room, ready to tell the Apprentice that he needed to rest so that he would be safely back upstairs and out of sight. Her heart sank as she walked into the room where she had just seen him. The Apprentice was gone.

• • •

Regina spent several hours poring over the documents on Blue's desk. It seemed that Blue had been honest with her, there was nothing of use here. She slumped back in her chair and let out a deep sigh. This was getting her nowhere, again. She wiped some of the sweat from her forehead; the temperature of Blue's study wasn't helping, either. For whatever reason, the Blue Fairy had a fire going in her office in the middle of a heat wave. Regina understood that basements could get draughty, especially with there being a large fireplace in the room, but the roaring fire Blue had going was excessive. Closing her eyes, she placed her hand over the fire and started to close her hand into a fist, attempting to subdue the flames using her magic. Something felt different about this fire, though. When Regina opened her eyes, she saw that the fire was unchanged. Reaching back into the fireplace, she tried to sense presence of magic. It wasn't difficult for her to find; there was a great deal of magic present, and something about it felt familiar. Even more confusing, it seemed that there was more than one magical source present. The flames lapped at Regina's palm and forced her to pull her hand back. The fire began to grow, filling the mouth of the fireplace so that there was no way for Regina to reach inside.

"Are you satisfied?" Blue asked, starting to make her way down the stairs. "It's late and we'd all like to get to bed, so if you don't mind?" Blue held out her arm toward the door indicating that she wanted Regina to leave.

"Of course, dear. I wouldn't want to be nuisance." Regina smirked at her last comment, knowing quite well that her presence was always a nuisance for the Blue Fairy. "Do you mind if I stop by again, in case I find anything relevant to what you have here?" There was something about the fireplace that had piqued her interest, though she was too exhausted to fully grasp what it was.

"I-I don't…um," Blue stammered. Telling Regina 'no' outright might seem suspicious, especially since she had already told Regina to take as much time as she wanted with the information. "I suppose that would be alright." Blue calmed herself, remembering that there was nothing in the study that could possibly be of use. Regina shouldn't have any reason to come back, but Blue would leave the offer open for the sake of appearances.

"Thank you," Regina said sincerely, although she didn't fully make eye contact with the fairy.

Blue listened as Regina walked up the stairs, across the main floor, and out of the convent. She let out a sigh of relief, realizing that Regina was safely out of the building. Blue hadn't found the Apprentice yet, but she knew he was too weak to get very far. The convent was far enough from town that the Apprentice could not have made it anywhere near the citizens of Storybrooke, let alone to a location where someone might notice him. It was dark now, but Blue knew that waiting until morning to find him would mean potentially allowing harm to come to the Apprentice. As much as she disliked his presence, she didn't want him to be hurt. She also couldn't risk him being found by someone else, unlikely as that possibility was. She would wait a few more hours until most of the townspeople had gone to bed, then she would start her search.

Just as Blue had finished mentally planning her night, she noticed how warm it had become in her small office. She glanced over at the fireplace, where the flames engulfed the entire opening and were stretching upward into the chimney. Fear began to settle into the back of Blue's mind. The fire was meant to keep prying eyes away from the compartment that was hidden beneath the hearth; the only reason it would grow was to prevent someone from realizing that the compartment was there. Regina had gotten too close.

Blue ran up the stairs, locking the door behind her. Pulling on her coat, she walked briskly out the front door. She needed to find the Apprentice now, before he had the chance to find Regina.

• • •

It was strange to her, how the cell managed to stay so damp. There was no water dripping inside, nor were there any obvious trails of water on the floor. Emma had come to the conclusion that the dampness must be from the strange fog that always seemed to linger in the cavern. She could tell that the fog wasn't natural; it reeked of magic. After several weeks of being held prisoner in the cell, she'd come to the conclusion that someone must be using the fog to conceal themselves; she had started noticing the fluctuations in the amount of magic she could sense, which were accompanied by changes in the density of the fog. Someone was hiding in the fog. Someone was watching her.

• • •

It had been yet another long and unproductive day. Regina was exhausted and felt the weight of her perceived failure start to sink into her muscles. She needed to call Hook and update him about what had happened, and she needed to go home and tell Robin what she'd been up to. Robin and Hook were, after all, the only people left who seemed willing to help her. They were also well aware of the toll Emma's disappearance had taken on her, and they would worry if she went too long without contacting them. However, at that moment, she wasn't sure that she had the energy to give more bad news. Regina looked out at the road in front of her. She immediately regretted having walked to the convent. It was a long walk home and she felt too tired to poof herself there. She kept walking, knowing that she would realize just how tired she was if she stopped to rest.

Regina walked a bit farther before tripping over a crack in the road. The heel of her shoe snapped as she collided with the pavement. No, she was not going to make it back to her house tonight. She looked around to see where she was. Lucky for her, the path to the Sorcerer's mansion was just up ahead. Since Gold had fallen into a coma and Emma had disappeared, only Regina had spent any time in the mansion. Even if she hadn't found anything of use for saving Emma, she did enjoy that the mansion gave her somewhere to escape when she needed to be alone. True, she had her vault and her office, but people had grown far too comfortable barging in on her whenever they pleased. Most people, though they knew of the mansion, didn't know of its actual location and for that, she was thankful. Regina used her magic to reattach the heel of her shoe and then began walking toward the Sorcerer's mansion.

It didn't take long for her to reach the front gate. The mansion was so close to the fairy's convent that she was amazed the Blue hadn't known about it. Regina unlocked the gate and made her way up the front walk. That's when she saw him. The Apprentice was slumped over behind the low stone wall that enclosed the front porch. He was breathing heavily, having used all of his energy to get himself to the mansion.

"Please," he pleaded, reaching out to her.

"Uh…Of course." Regina pulled the Apprentice up, putting one of his arms over her shoulders to support his weight. "Let's get you inside."

"Please," he whispered into her ear. "Don't…tell them…I'm here…"

She moved him into one of the bedrooms on the ground floor so that he could rest. He'd started falling asleep before Regina had gotten him into the bed. Although she wanted to know what he was doing there, she knew that she would have to wait to find out. She pulled the blankets over him and left him to rest. Remembering that he'd been frightened of someone when she found him, Regina put a protection spell around his room. She wasn't sure who "they" were, but she wasn't taking any chances. After what Nova had told her, she knew she needed to find out more about the Sorcerer, and the Apprentice seemed like a good place to start; she was not about to let someone else take him away from her.

It was late and Regina was exhausted, but she wasn't ready to sleep yet. She walked through the halls until she came to the secret passage that led to the library full of blank books. There was nothing useful in any of the books—she and the Charmings had checked all of them—but it was quiet. The room also reminded her of Henry. She remembered how he'd first shown it to her, back when he was so excited about finding Regina's happy ending. Emma even promised her, right there in the entryway, that she'd make sure Regina got her happy ending. It was a happy memory, but the thought of it stung after everything that had happened. Emma had sacrificed herself to keep her promise to Regina, a sacrifice that seemed to result in the loss of everyone around her, as well. Regina walked through the secret passage, closing it behind her. She crossed the room and curled up on the couch that was positioned in front of the empty fireplace. Her phone buzzed as either Robin or Hook sent her another message asking how things were going. She would respond, but not yet. She needed a moment to collect her thoughts.

The temperature outside had dropped quite a bit since Regina had left the convent, and the draft coming into the library through the fireplace was making her shiver. With a flick of her wrist, she conjured a fireball and sent it flying onto the remaining log positioned just about the hearth. She was grateful to be in control of this fire, she thought as she remembered how warm she had been in Blue's study. Her whole experience at the convent that day had felt strange. Blue hadn't even wanted to talk to her a few days ago, and now she was willing to let Regina use her personal study? Then there was the issue of the magic she had sensed in the fireplace. Regina was growing frustrated that she wasn't able to remember where she had sensed that magic before. It had felt so familiar to her.

It wasn't just her experience at the convent that was bothering her, though. She felt as though she stumbled across a number of clues recently that she couldn't connect. For the last few days, they had all been swirling nonsensically around her overworked mind. This was beginning to be too much for her. She reached for the pen and paper that had been left on the floor in front of her. _Maybe if I write it down, then I'll be able to keep it all straight_ , she thought to herself. Henry's storybook was on the end table next to the couch. She pulled the book onto her lap, placing the piece of paper over it so that she could write.

She tried to list the information in the order that she had learned it. There was the strange message someone had left on the board in front of town hall, "under the fire." Then there was the information about the storybooks that August had told her—though, she wasn't sure she believed that just yet. She wrote down what Blue had said about Emma likely being in another realm. She also wrote down what Nova had told her, that the Sorcerer was responsible for creating the Dark One. She paused after the last entry. Wasn't the Sorcerer also responsible for choosing the Author? She wrote down "Author?" next to her entry about the Sorcerer. Finally, there was the strange magic she had sensed in Blue's study. What was it about that magic that had felt so familiar? It was just like—she looked down at the book on her lap. Suddenly, she knew exactly where she had sensed that magic before: it was the same magic she felt each time she held Henry's storybook. Blue had storybooks and she was hiding them beneath her fireplace.


	4. Chapter 4

Hello again! This will likely be my last update for the next two weeks, so I made it quite long. I'll start updating again toward the end of August. Thanks for reading!

I do not own _Once Upon A Time_ or any of its characters.

* * *

Chapter 4

The Apprentice fought to keep his eyes shut. He was exhausted. He didn't want to wake yet. However, he didn't have much choice in the matter, given how hard Regina was shaking him.

"Wake up," she commanded. "Wake up, or I'll tell the Blue Fairy where you are!" That grabbed his attention.

"No. You won't," he grumbled. "If she finds out you hid me here, she'll never let you anywhere near that convent again. But I would wager you knew that already."

"Why would she care if I spoke to you? I spoke to you before, when Isaac tried to change the book. She knows that." She was holding onto the collar of his shirt trying to prevent him from falling back to sleep.

"Ah, but now we have a new author," he grinned, pushing himself into a sitting position. "You can remove your hand. I'll tell you what you wish to know." Regina released his shirt.

"What does Henry have to do with this?" Regina had forgotten all about her other questions as soon as the Apprentice had mentioned Henry.

"He certainly is a special boy, isn't he? Such a strong sense of right and wrong," the Apprentice smiled at her. He could see the concern spreading across Regina's face. "He even broke that enchanted quill that I gave him. Has he tried using it again? If he hasn't, he'll find out soon that it no longer works once it has been damaged." He could tell by the look on Regina's face that Henry had tried to use the quill; for what, he was unsure, but it was clear that the ordeal had not ended well. "The quill can still record, of course. It is a perfectly good writing implement, but it can no longer alter our reality."

"I know that," Regina said quietly. "He…he tried to save Emma." She started to say more, but the tears forming at the edges of her eyes were threatening to overflow, so she stopped.

"Ah. Well he'll be happy to know that, even if he hadn't broken the quill, that would not have worked." Regina looked up at him with surprise. So there was no reason for Henry to blame himself! "The darkness cannot be written away or controlled by the Author. Although the Dark One's actions can be controlled by what the Author writes, the darkness itself cannot."

"So what does that mean? There was nothing Henry could have done to save Emma?" Regina wanted confirmation that there was nothing Henry could have done. Perhaps that realization could help him recover if he ever returned to Storybrooke.

"More or less," he shrugged. "That is not important, though."

"Yes! Yes it is!" Regina was overcome by a combination of emotions. She was thrilled that Henry could no longer have any reason to blame himself, but she was also still dealing with the pain of having seen her sweet son fall apart in front of her eyes. "How can you even say that?" There was a chance that Henry could be okay now, and that realization had blocked out all of her concerns about other storybooks and the Sorcerer.

"I'm sorry, let me explain." The Apprentice began to realize that something quite serious had happened to Henry. He knew if asked her for details about the new Author that they would never get to discuss other matters before he needed to sleep again. "What I meant was, there are other matters which require your immediate attention. The Blue Fairy will eventually realize that I am missing. If she finds me, she may do something drastic to prevent me from telling you anything about her dealings with the Sorcerer."

"So she does know the Sorcerer," she said, her smile filled with venom.

"Yes, the two of them are the reason that both the Dark One and the Author exist at all."

"Wait, I thought the Dark One was created by the Sorcerer?"

"Yes…and no," the Apprentice shrugged. "It is rather complicated. That is not important now, though. Your friend, Emma, have you been able to summon her?" He was growing more tired by the second. There was something he needed Regina to find before he wanted to risk getting into the rest of the details about the Sorcerer.

"No," Regina sighed. Almost everyone in town had tried to summon her, but she never appeared. In the end, the town had unofficially decided that Regina should hold the dagger; after everyone else had started to give up on finding Emma, no one else could stand the sight of it. She kept the dagger hidden in a sheath that was secured under her left arm. Regina was not about to let the dagger out of her sight, for fear that it might fall into the wrong hands. "The Blue Fairy said that it might be because she's in another realm."

"That would certainly make sense," the Apprentice nodded.

"Why would that make sense?" Regina couldn't help but feel that she was missing something.

"The Dark One is not from this realm. Given the chance, the darkness will always try to return to its source." He could tell by the scowl Regina was giving him that she didn't understand. "The Sorcerer. The Dark One was created by the Sorcerer and is still, in many ways, tied to him. Although the Dark One may try to venture far from the Sorcerer, the darkness itself is always being pulled toward him. They are connected." He was fighting to keep his eyes open now. "Emma was already a powerful wielder of magic when she was consumed by the darkness. It likely used her ability to seek out the Sorcerer."

"So if we find the Sorcerer, we find Emma." Regina was starting to understand what the Apprentice wanted her to do. "Then how do we find this Sorcerer?"

"His name is Merlin," the Apprentice told her.

"Yeah, I know. I haven't been able to find anything on him in any of the books from our realm. He's not in Henry's storybook, either." Regina sat back, ready to accept that she'd hit another dead end.

"No, nor would he. Much like the darkness cannot be controlled by the Author, neither can the Sorcerer." He paused for a moment to catch his breath and muster up the last of his energy to finish his explanation. "Just like your son was not born in our realm, neither were any of the previous authors. The Author must be from a realm other than the one about which he or she writes. That way, what is written will not be swayed by any personal biases. The Author must also believe in magic. Your son has the Heart of the Truest Believer, which made him the perfect candidate for the position." Regina shook her head, preparing to ask more questions about what this might mean for Henry, but the Apprentice cut her off, "Many previous authors were actually aspiring writers from other realms. It was not uncommon for them to rewrite versions of the stories from your realm and publish them as fiction in their own realms. They often changed some of the details to make the story more appealing to their audience, but many of the major details, such as the location of the stories, remained the same."

"And in these versions of the stories, they were able to write about the Sorcerer?" Regina was beginning to understand where the Apprentice was going with his explanation.

"Precisely."

"So if I can find the stories about the Sorcerer, Merlin, we can find out where he is."

"Yes. Find the stories, then we can find Merlin." The Apprentice closed his eyes and started to go back to sleep.

"Wait," Regina said, shaking the Apprentice awake. "Why are you telling me this? You're the Sorcerer's Apprentice, so why are you here at all?"

"There are many reasons, and we can discuss those after I have slept." He pulled her hand off of his shoulder and lowered himself back onto the bed. That was all she would get from him for now.

He smiled as he let unconsciousness overpower him. The last thought that passed through the Apprentice's mind was, _I can see why she frightens them so much_.

• • •

"Regina, love, why is it necessary for us to discuss this now?" Robin was more than a little annoyed at having been awoken in the middle of the night.

"Robin, are you listening to me?" Regina had just finished explaining everything she had learned that day, but she could see that Robin was not nearly as excited about it as she was.

"I am trying, my dear. I assure you, I am trying." After letting out a yawn, "So, we have to find a story…a story about Merlin…and then we just go to that realm and find him."

"More or less." Regina knew that there were still holes in the plan, which would hopefully be filled after the Apprentice had recovered. She knew that her excitement was coming off as more than a little unfounded, but this was the first time in months that she had made any kind of progress on finding Emma. It felt as though she were running on pure adrenaline. Only an hour earlier, she had prepared to sleep at the Sorcerer's mansion because she was too tired to walk home, but now she was practically shaking with anticipation.

The excitement in her voice didn't quite match her appearance, though. Robin could see how the dark circles made the red veins in her eyes look as if they were glowing. "That is wonderful, my dear, but now you need to sleep."

"Robin, there's one more thing." She pulled the ripped page from her pocket. "I think this may have come from one of the books hidden in Blue's fireplace."

"Okay, now you do sound mad. Why would she have a storybook with our happy ending in it?" He put his hands on her shoulders and looked into her eyes. "What? Do you think she and this Sorcerer have somehow been keeping you from your happy ending?" He rubbed his thumbs up and down on her shoulders, trying to calm her down. "Milady, that doesn't make sense."

"I know. I can't explain why she would have a book with this page, but it had to have come from somewhere and I could sense that there were other books in that fireplace—"

"Regina, calm down. We can figure all of this out in the morning. For right now, we both need to get some sleep." He moved one of his hands to cup her cheek. Her skin had grown so pale from the lack of sunlight and sleep, and it made the circles under her eyes appear even darker. It had been weeks since she'd slept well. If they didn't find Emma soon, he was certain that it would drive Regina mad. "Please?"

"I don't know if I can sleep right now, Robin." Her mind felt like it was moving in too many directions at once; she was far to restless to sleep.

"What if I helped you calm down?" he asked, raising his eyebrows. "Do you think you could sleep then?" He leaned in a placed a kiss on her neck, just below her jaw.

"I thought you were tired." Regina said as she grinned and bit her lip.

"For you, milady, I will make the sacrifice," he joked. Grasping her legs midway up her thigh, Robin lifted Regina off the ground as he continued to kiss down her neck. He carried her up the stairs to their room, closing the door behind them. Robin was true to his word, and after only a couple of hours, Regina lay fast asleep in his arms.

• • •

"I know you're there," Emma said melodically. She was growing tired of not knowing who this visitor was. "Why not just come out, already?" Her fingers were wrapped around the bars of her cell and her feet were balanced only a foot or so below her hands. Her head was cocked somewhat awkwardly to one side as she glared out into the fog. "Are you afraid I'll bite?" The visitor came closer, but only so that Emma could see the outline of a cloak. "Oh, come now, don't be shy."

"My, my," the visitor said. "You have all but forgotten who you are, haven't you? I really would have expected the Saviour to have put up more of a fight against the darkness." Emma dropped from the bars at his last comment. "I doubt you'll last as long as Rumplestiltskin, and he was coward." She could tell he was trying to bait her, but she wasn't sure why.

"What do you want from me?" she asked.

"I just wanted to get a good look at the fallen Saviour while I had the chance. There's no going back, you know. Once you become the Dark One, the only way to be free of the darkness is to die." The visitor sounded cocky and Emma found it infuriating.

"Is it?" she asked condescendingly. "Well, I know a certain Apprentice who found a way around that rule." She grinned as she watched the visitor stiffen. He hadn't known about what the Apprentice had done. "Ohoho! Did no one tell you? I suppose not, since no one else in this realm would know about it." The visitor suddenly flew toward the cell, grabbing the collar of Emma's shirt and pulling her against the bars.

"What do you mean, my Apprentice found a way around that rule?" he asked through clenched teeth. For whatever reason, he was furious. Emma was thrilled; this was the most eventful thing to happen in quite a while for her.

"Oh my, is he your Apprentice? Did he do something wrong? Oh dear. How awful." Emma put her hand to her mouth as she feigned shock. "Well, if he's _your_ Apprentice, then that would make you…" She tapped her chin and pretended to think before finishing, "Merlin!"

• • •

Regina was growing restless again. After her promising conversation with the Apprentice, his condition had only worsened. For the first month, he had been able to be awake for most of the day, but he was too weak to move around. Toward the end of the month, each conversation seemed to make him tired more quickly than the last. During the second month, the Apprentice would sometimes sleep for days at a time before waking. Recently, when he did wake, he never stayed conscious for more than an hour at a time. Regina wasn't sure what exactly the darkness had done to him, but she was certain that it must have come close to killing him. She could also tell that his condition was not improving.

During the first few weeks after she'd found the Apprentice, Regina continued to search for information about the location of the Sorcerer. All of the stories about Merlin indicated that he was most likely in Camelot. There were a few other places that were mentioned in some of the stories, but Camelot was the only kingdom of which Regina had actually heard. It seemed like the strongest lead. The Apprentice had agreed that Camelot, even if the Sorcerer were no longer there, would be the best place for them to start their search for Emma.

In addition to finding the information about Merlin, Regina had gone back to the convent a couple of times to try and get another look at the fireplace. Unfortunately, Blue refused to leave her alone in the office, so Regina hadn't gotten anywhere near it. Between the Apprentice's recent health decline and Blue's hovering, Regina had been unable to make any kind of progress. After having finally made what she thought were huge steps forward in her mission to save Emma, it was maddening to not yet have found any new leads. After yet another short night of fitful sleep, she left her home to take a walk and clear her head. She needed to think about what she could do until the Apprentice was well enough to tell her more about the Sorcerer. Regina walked several blocks in the direction of the town hall. As she approached the building, she noticed Nova standing on the front lawn, staring at the space where the charred sign used to stand.

"Hello, Nova."

"Regina! How are you?" Regina wasn't certain how the fairy managed to always be so nauseatingly cheerful, especially since she lived in the same convent as Blue. "And what happened to the sign?"

"I'm fine, thanks." Regina had removed the sign the day after she realized what the message meant. She didn't want Blue to realize that Regina was onto her. "Oh, I just figured it was about time that eyesore was removed," she lied.

"Ah," Nova said with a bit less pep than normal. "Did you ever figure out what the message meant?"

Regina had always taken Nova to be an airhead, but she was getting the definite impression that there was more to the fairy than she realized. However, she couldn't tell if Nova was trying to help or hinder her.

Nova noticed the look of suspicion on Regina's face. Leaning toward Regina, she whispered, "Blue doesn't know I'm here." When Regina remained silent, Nova added, "Did Robin ever find that page I left for him?"

Regina froze. How did Nova know about the page? Only a handful of people knew about the page, none of which were particularly close to the Blue Fairy. She wasn't convinced that Nova wasn't playing her, though, so Regina continued to remain silent.

"Brr! It's so chilly out today! Would you mind if we continue our conversation inside where it's warm?" Nova's voice had returned to its normal volume, along with its unsually high level of pep.

"…Yes. Of course, dear." Regina led Nova to her office. Before beginning her conversation with the fairy, Regina put up a protection spell that would keep people both from barging in on them, as well as from eavesdropping. "Now then, what did you mean by, 'did Robin find the page you left for him?' And why are you so curious about the message that was carved into the sign?"

"I think you know exactly what I mean about the page," Nova shot back. "And I think you took the sign down because you figured out what the sign meant and you didn't want Blue to see it."

Regina was truly stunned. Nova's behaviour was entirely confusing. Why on earth would she, Blue's protégée, be going against the head fairy? And why was she helping Regina, the person who was almost unanimously hated amongst the fairies? "Why…What are you doing, Nova?"

"I'm trying to help you."

"Why?"

"Because I certainly would have appreciated it if someone would have helped me when I was in your position. Lucky for me, things didn't turn out as badly as they did for you." Nova looked as though she were about to start crying. Regina might have felt sympathy of some kind—that is, if she had any idea what the fairy was going on about. "Why do you look so confused? You found the books, didn't you?"

Regina's mouth hung open. She had no idea what was going on. Clearly she was having some sort of psychotic break, because nothing about the current situation seemed like it could be real. The room felt like it was spinning. Regina needed to calm down. She placed both hands on her desk, trying to brace herself. "I—," Regina started, seeing the edges of her vision going black. She was going to pass out. She needed to get closer to floor, otherwise she might hurt herself when she fell. Using her remaining energy, she lowered herself to her knees just as she blacked out.

• • •

When Regina opened her eyes she was laying on the couch in her office. Nova was sitting on the table in front of her. Regina groaned as she tried to sit up, catching Nova's attention. "Good you're awake. Now where were we?"

"No, please," Regina pleaded. "I need a moment to understand what exactly is going on here." Her stomach felt like it was in knots. Regina grabbed for the trash bin that was next to her and vomited into it. This was not how she wanted the fairy—or anyone, really—to see her. As she sat up, Regina realized that she didn't remember how she got to the couch. "How did I…get over here?"

"I caught you when you passed out and then carried you over here to lie down. You threw up a bit, but then you slept for about a half hour." Regina looked mortified. "Don't worry, it was no trouble at all." Nova clearly did not understand why Regina looked so horrified.

"T-thank you, dear."

"Now then, where were we? Right! I asked you if you'd seen the books." Although Nova was concerned about how much she had just overwhelmed the former Evil Queen, she new she didn't have much time before she needed to get back to the convent.

"Wait, why do _you_ know about the books? Do all of the fairies know that there are multiple storybooks? What are they for?" Regina was confused about why Nova was talking to her at all, but it was the first chance she'd had in weeks to get information, and she was not about to let it go.

"Slow down. So you clearly know about the books," Nova said with relief. "No, not all of the fairies know about the other storybooks. Actually, I'm not even supposed to know about them." Nova waited for a moment to make sure Regina was following what she was saying. "As Blue's protégée, she trusts me with a lot more information than she does any of the other fairies. For example, none of the other fairies are aloud in her private study that she has in the basement."

"The one with the magical fireplace?"

"Exactly. I accidentally spilled some fairy dust on several months back and the hidden compartment popped right open!" Nova seemed so pleased that, for once, her clumsiness was had actually helped her. "There were quite a few storybooks in there. I don't know what they're for, but I do know that they all end as soon as the stories depict something that didn't happen in Henry's storybook. That's why the back of the illustration I left for Robin doesn't have any writing on it. That book ended as soon as you decided to go meet him." Nova waited a moment to see if Regina had any information of her own to add to Nova's explanation. "I'm not sure what it means, but I have a few theories."

Regina thought for a moment, remembering something that Robin had told her weeks earlier. He meant it as a joke, but what he had said was starting to sound like the most reasonable explanation. "Someone has been manipulating the stories so that some of us don't get happy endings."

"Mhmm," Nova nodded in agreement. "It certainly looks that way."

"Wait," Regina remembered something that Nova had said before she passed out. "What did you mean that you would have wanted someone to help you if you were in my position?"

Nova's expression saddened as she explained to Regina what she'd found in one of the books. "I found a page that was a lot like the one I found of you and Robin. There was an illustration of Dreamy—I mean Grumpy and I sailing around the world together. In that version of the story, we followed through on our plan to leave our old lives behind. It looked like we were happy."

Regina started to realize what Nova was telling her. "What actually happened, Nova?"

"Blue got to Grumpy before he could meet me and she convinced him to stay in the mines. His name used to be Dreamy, but after that night…after that night it changed to Grumpy." Nova paused to take a few deep breaths. "Don't you see, Regina? Somehow she took that chance at happiness away from me! If she didn't then she knows who did!" Nova wiped away the tears that had started to fall down her cheeks. "There were several books about you, Regina. Someone has been taking your happiness from you for most of your life."

"But why?!" Not that this surprised her. After all, even Isaac had admitted that she got screwed over more than anyone else. "Wait, those books. They're the books that the authors use!"

"Yes, but no one has seen the Apprentice or the former Author in months," Nova sighed. Regina realized that Nova must have been trying to find the Apprentice and Isaac for quite a while.

"Hmm," Regina pretended to agree.

"So, are you going to try to look at the books?"

"What?" She wasn't sure if that was really necessary.

"Y'know, to figure out why someone has been manipulating them at all?"

"Right. Yes." Blue wasn't going to let Regina anywhere near those books, though. "We need to a way to distract Blue."

"Come by tonight around 11pm. Blue has gone out every night around that time to look for the Apprentice. She usually stays out until around midnight."

The two women agreed to meet in Regina's office the next day to discuss what she'd found. Regina knew she had to be careful. With the exception of Tink, fairies had never been willing to help her. Although she wanted to trust Nova, she was still concerned that she might be walking into a trap.

• • •

Later that day, Regina made her way to the hospital supposedly so that she could check on Zelena. Unknown to everyone but Regina and Emma, she was holding someone other than her sister in the padded rooms that were hidden in the basement. That was where she and Emma had agreed to keep Isaac until the figured out a more permanent solution. They couldn't simply release him into Storybrooke—someone would likely have killed him. They also couldn't kick him out of Storybrooke. Unlike the other inhabitants of the magical town, Isaac might actually benefit from people discovering that fairy tale characters actually existed; at the very least, it might help him sell a few books. So, prior to Emma's disappearance, they had decided that the best course of actions was to keep him hidden.

"What could you possibly want?" Isaac asked as Regina closed the door; he was not pleased with his most recent visitor.

"I want to know about the storybooks." When she didn't get a response, Regina turned around to face him. Isaac was grinning at her. "What?"

"So you've figured it out."

"Figure out what, exactly?"

"That you really do get screwed over the most."

"I knew that already—"

"No, I don't mean that bad things just happen to occur more often to you than everyone else. I mean someone is preventing good things from happening to you more often than they are for everyone else."

"What…?" Regina had suspected that was what the books meant, but she never thought she would actually get confirmation. "Why? Why would someone want to do that?"

"No idea. That piece of information was never shared with me."

None of this made sense. Why would anyone go through so much trouble just to make Regina miserable? Even worse, the page with her and Robin indicated that someone had been trying to keep her miserable long before she'd every hurt anyone.

• • •

Emma was feeling a bit more like herself the next time Merlin came to visit her. Depending on the day, sometimes she felt like her old self and other times it felt like there was nothing left but darkness. True, she was having fewer and fewer days when she felt like herself, but she was grateful for any break she had from the darkness. "They'll come for me."

"You kept saying that when we first locked you in here, and it still hasn't happened. Why is it you're so sure that they're still looking? They don't even know you're here." The Sorcerer was being cocky again. "More importantly, if they do get here, what makes you think they'll even want to free you once they see what you've done?"

"That wasn't me! I didn't do those things!"

"Really?" he sneered. "And I supposed you didn't enjoy it, either? Just like you didn't enjoy ripping out the hearts of those guards. That's why you laughed about it for days after."

The truth was that when Emma had first arrived in Camelot, she could still tell the difference between the actions that were controlled by her and those that were controlled by the darkness. Over time, though, it had started to become more and more difficult to distinguish between the two. If she wasn't careful, Emma was going to lose herself.

• • •

Before leaving for the convent, Regina stopped by the Sorcerer's mansion to check on the Apprentice. Other than the times Regina came by in the middle of the night to try and speak with the Apprentice, she'd left Red in charge of taking care of him. Regina felt it was best for her to not be seen going to the mansion in case Blue was keeping tabs on her. There was a good chance that the Apprentice wouldn't be awake when she arrived that night, but she still wanted to try to keep him updated about what was happening. Sure enough, when she entered his room, the Apprentice appeared to be fast asleep.

"I know you probably won't remember this, but I'm going to try to get the books from Blue's study tonight. Hopefully they'll give us some idea as to why anyone would want to manipulate the storybook in the first place." She paused for a moment, hoping that maybe the Apprentice would wake up or acknowledge what she'd said. When he remained asleep, Regina continued, "Nova said that Blue has been out looking for you, so I'm going to sneak in while she's away." Regina looked over at the Apprentice once more. "Anyway, I'll see you once I've finished."

After Regina left the room, the Apprentice opened his eyes. He'd woken up right after Regina had started talking. It wasn't the talking that had roused him, but something else. There was something about her magic that was changing; he could feel it in the air around her. He knew what he had to do and he knew that he would not be coming back to mansion again.

• • •

Regina hid in the dark tree line across the street from the convent, waiting for Blue to make her exit. As soon as she saw the Blue Fairy walk across the lawn and around the first curve in the road, Regina ran to entrance. Nova had assured her that the fairies had a strict curfew, so they would all be upstairs and wouldn't cause her any trouble. Regina took light steps across the ground floor as she made her way to the door to Blue's study. As soon as she reached the door, Regina could sense that there was some kind of magic surrounding it. A protection spell wouldn't have surprised her. What did surprise her was that the protection spell burst when she reached out to touch it. This was bad. Blue would have felt her protection spell being broken. Regina needed to either act fast or get out. She pulled her ring of skeleton keys from her pocket and tried to unlock the door.

• • •

Blue felt the slight pinch that told her the protection spell had been broken. She needed to get back to the convent immediately. Then, as she turned to leave, she saw him. The Apprentice was standing in the road waiting for her.

• • •

Regina had tried all of her skeleton keys, but none of them would open the lock on the door to the study. Blue would be back any minute and Regina had no idea what she was going to say if she got caught. The people of Storybrooke were already furious with her over losing Emma, and having them think that she was trying to rob the Blue Fairy would probably end with either her banishment or execution. She put one hand around the door handle and the other over the keyhole, and leaned into the door with her shoulder has she turned the knob. "C'mon," she muttered as she squeezed her eyes closed. "C'mon, open." Suddenly, the lock gave in and the door flew open, nearly throwing Regina down the stairs. If her eyes had been open, she might have noticed the golden glow the came from her hands just before the door opened.

She hurried down the stairs and over to the fireplace. Blue had lowered the flames after Regina's first visit, so there was room for her to put her hands in to try and sense if the books were still there. As she slid her hands inward near the top of the opening, she saw it: there was a golden glow that was coming from her palms. The flames receded as the glow became stronger until they were completely extinguished. Regina wanted to know what had just happened, but she also knew that she didn't have much time. She touched the hearth and the compartment popped open. She placed as much of the contents as she could into the satchel she'd brought with her. The few books that were left she carried in her arms. As soon as she was sure she'd grabbed everything, Regina closed the compartment. The fire came roaring back to life as soon as she removed her hands. She ran up the stairs, closing the door behind her. Once she was out of the convent, Regina poofed herself back to the Sorcerer's mansion.

• • •

The Apprentice was leaning heavily on a cane. Despite the cold weather, there was a layer of sweat covering his forehead. "I hear…you've been looking for me," he panted.

Blue glared at him, conflicted about whether to leave him and go back to the convent, or stay and figure out how much damage he'd done. "Where have you been?"

"That doesn't matter," he grinned. His arm gave out and he collapsed. Blue ran to him. She propped him up against a lamppost and looked at him. The Apprentice wasn't going to make it back to the convent, or anywhere else for that matter, and there was nothing she could do about it. He probably knew he was going to die after Emma had taken the darkness out of him. Although she had done her best, she wasn't skilled enough to understand how to removed the darkness without seriously harming its victim. "Can…you feel it?" he asked weakly. "Everything is…changing."

Blue was certain that, in his weakened state, the Apprentice was delirious, so she brushed off his comment. "Right. Everything is changing."

The Apprentice laughed at her.

"What is so funny?" she asked, becoming slightly irritated.

"Can…you feel…it?" He continued to laugh as he spoke, "Another sorcerer…is coming."

Blue stared at him in horror.

"You're…too…late," he said, releasing his last breath.

• • •

Regina appeared in the library of the Sorcerer's mansion. She placed the books and the satchel on one of the tables and then ran to go check on the Apprentice. She'd done it! She'd gotten the storybooks! Now they could start to piece together what the Sorcerer had been trying to do by manipulating everyone's stories. She turned the corner to the hall where the Apprentice's room was and—stopped.

Regina surveyed the damage she was seeing.

"Regina…?" Ruby was hanging over the side of a broken table. There was a deep gash across her forehead from where she had collided with the wall. "Regina I'm sorry," Ruby cried softly. "I tried to stop him but he threw me out of the way—."

"Calm down. Let me look at you head." Regina was irritated that the Apprentice had gotten away, but there was no use yelling at Ruby while she was so badly hurt. If Regina was going to yell at Ruby, she at least wanted to be certain that the wolf would remember it. She placed one hand beneath Ruby's chin to pull her face up into the light, and used her other hand to wipe the blood soaked bangs out of the way. As Regina's hand made contact with Ruby's forehead, the strange golden glow returned, healing Ruby's wound in a matter of seconds. Regina wasn't sure what was happening. She wasn't even trying to do these things; it's as though the magic she was using didn't require any energy at all.

Someone needed to explain what was happening to her. The Apprentice was the only one she knew who might have the answers she needed. She ran into his room, unwilling to believe that he was really gone. There was a note on the bed with her name on it that read, _You will not see me again. I wish you the best of luck in saving your friend. Remember, they are more afraid of you then you are of them. Farewell, The Apprentice._ Regina looked up from the note. Now how was she going to find Camelot? She threw the note onto the bed, ready to throw one of her fireballs at it. The note flipped over as it floated down onto to blankets. On that back of the page it read, _PS- check the closet_. Regina turned around, looking at the closet door. The door seemed strange to her for two reasons. For one, it looked very different from any of the other doors in the mansion. All of the other doors were rectangular and both the doors and their frames were made entirely of wood. The closet door, however, was in the shape of a pointed arch, and the frame was made of stones. The second strange thing about the door was that Regina didn't remember it being there the last time she had been in the Apprentice's room. Slowly, Regina opened the door, gasping at the scene behind it.

"What is it?" Ruby asked, having finally mustered the courage to enter the room.

"Camelot."


	5. Chapter 5

Hello again! Here's another update. If you have any thoughts about the direction this is headed, feel free to review or message me. Chapter 6 is almost finished, so that will be posted soon. Thank you for reading!

I do not own _Once Upon A Time_ or any of its characters.

* * *

Chapter 5

Most days, Emma left it up to chance whether she felt like her old self or if the darkness took hold. She tried to fight against the darkness for control of herself during the first few weeks, but eventually she learned that there wasn't much that she could do to stop it. Occasionally she would have a day where, for whatever reason, the darkness would relinquish its control and allow her to just be Emma—it always came back with a vengeance the next day, though. She lived for those days when she could feel like herself. When she felt the interval between those days became too great, panic would begin to build in the back of Emma's mind. Eventually, the sheer terror of losing herself would take hold, and she would resist the control of the darkness once more.

Emma leaned her head against the bars of her cell, feeling a bit of relief as the cold, damp bars touched her burning forehead. She'd been fighting the darkness inside of her all day, and the struggle was taking its toll. The internal fight left her feverish and physically weak, and she was losing hope that she would ever have another day of feeling like herself. She'd been fighting against the darkness all morning and, for the moment, it seemed she had won. This victory would not last—that much she'd learned—but even one moment of peace was incredibly satisfying. Any moment, she knew, the darkness would take hold again. She savoured the moment of internal peace, trying to will each second to stretch itself just a little longer. Her eyes grew heavy and she fought the desire to drift off into pleasant dreams; if she did, the darkness would creep in while she slept and ruin what ever sweet thought or memory into which she chose to retreat.

"Being naughty again, are we?" Merlin sneered. "You gave into it already, Emma. The darkness is a part of you."

"I…" she started. "I…did not."

"Oh, but you did! Remember? You killed those people and revelled in the thrill of snuffing out their pathetic little lives. Then there were the guards. You laughed wildly while you crushed their hearts still beating in their chests." He waited a moment for what he'd said to sink in. "Do you remember when we captured you in that village? The one with the little school that sat on the edge of a field filled with wild flowers? It was always a beautiful sight to behold in the spring—not that it will be anymore. You remember what _you_ did there?"

"Why are you doing this?" Emma cried softly. Why did it seem like he was trying to make her give up? It was as if he wanted her to lose hope, to let the darkness win.

Merlin did not respond to her question. He waited, wanting to see the darkness take hold of her once more before he left. Seconds passed, then minutes, and after an hour of waiting, the Sorcerer grew angry. Emma had eventually passed into sleep, but he could see that it wasn't the kind of fitful sleep she normally had. There were no nightmares, she didn't cry out for Henry. He approached the cell, glaring down at the sleeping blond. For a moment, he cleared away some of the magic fog, hoping to get a better look at Emma in the moonlight. He noticed how her skin was glittering just a bit less than it had the previous day and she had gotten some of the natural colour back in her face. This was not a good sign.

Emma slept peacefully, having a pleasant dream about Henry being in New York City with Killian. As Emma watched scenes play out from Henry's life in the city, Regina told her about how much they'd all missed her and how excited they were to have her back. It had been so long since Emma had been able to dream about them; when the darkness took over, it was nearly impossible for her to even remember her loved ones. Emma smiled to herself as she slept. Even if it was only a dream, it was so wonderful to be able to see her son's face again.

Allowing the fog to settle back into the cell, Merlin turned away from Emma and stormed out of the cavern. As he left, he turned to one of the guards and instructed, "Restrict her food until I tell you to stop. One meal a day or less." He needed the darkness to consume her, and for that to happen, she had to start losing the fight against it. He needed her to be weak.

• • •

The door to Camelot was open, allowing moonlight to stream into the otherwise dimly lit room. Regina sat on the bed, staring into the landscape that appeared to be on the other side of the bedroom wall. She hadn't gone in yet. She knew that she needed to tell the Charmings, Henry, Killian, and Robin about this before she did anything. For now, she was content to only look.

"Emma," she began, holding the dagger in her hands. She'd done this a few times, pretending that, even though she could not summon Emma, she still might be able to use the dagger to communicate with her. It had been quite a while, though. Whenever Regina felt that she wasn't making progress on finding Emma, all of her guilt over the other woman's sacrifice would come rushing back to the front of her mind, making her conversations with the dagger too overwhelming for her to handle. Now, though, she finally felt like there had been a leap forward. The door to Camelot, to where Emma was sent, was sitting in front of her. She could finally give Emma some good news—assuming Emma could hear her, that is. "I know it's been a while since I last spoke to you. When the Apprentice started to grow weaker, it felt like I was hitting another dead end and I just couldn't handle talking to you. It hurt too much. I'm sorry." Regina nervously flipped the dagger over in her palms. If Emma could hear her when she held the dagger, then Regina knew that her going to long without talking to her was cruel. She started again, fighting back tears and the lump in her throat as she spoke, "H-Henry is still in New York. Killian says he's doing well in school and he's made quite a few friends. Apparently, Henry is also trying to teach Killian to play video games, but Killian is having a very hard time grasping the concept." Regina chuckled to herself at the thought of the one-handed pirate trying to use and Xbox controller. "We all miss you Emma. So much." Regina paused to swallow the sobs that were forming in her throat. "It won't be long now. I promise. I am going to come for you—we're all going to come for you. We won't let your heart turn black." Regina squeezed her eyes shut, refusing to let the tears fall from her eyes. She clutched the dagger in her hands as though doing so would somehow keep her from losing Emma. "Please, Emma. Please hold on. We're coming."

A faint gold glow erupted from Regina's hands and enveloped the dagger for a few seconds before fading. Regina opened her eyes just in time to see the soft golden glow as it disappeared. "What?" She stared down at her hands in shock. "What just happened?" Regina wasn't able to think much more about what she'd seen before she heard the squeal of tires outside, followed by Ruby's quick footsteps coming through the hallway.

"Regina!" Ruby called as she burst into the room. "Regina! Are you here?"

"Well it's not like anyone else would be," Regina muttered as she tried to wipe away her tears before the wolf could spot them.

"You need to go! Now! Robin is in the car outside." Ruby was practically pulling Regina up from the bed.

"Hold on a minute!" Regina ripped her arms away and shot a glare at Ruby. "First of all, go where? Second, why would I leave? I finally have a portal to get to Emma and—"

"Blue came running into Granny's when she found the Apprentice. She said he was running from you! That you killed him! The whole town is riled up. They burned down your house, Regina!" The last sentence got Regina's attention.

"Roland and Robin—!"

"Are safe. I got them out just in time. They are in the car waiting for you right now." Ruby went to look out the window and make sure no one had followed her to the mansion. Turning back to Regina, Ruby said, "Blue told everyone that she won't be able to save Emma without the Apprentice's help. People are calling for your head!" Ruby started to try and pull the shocked Regina out of the room once more.

"Wait—"

"There's no time! They'll find you here eventually!"

"Hold on!" Regina ripped her arm away from the wolf again. "I don't know what Blue is playing at, but she's definitely _not_ trying to help Emma." She turned her attention to the door.

Ruby had been helping Regina care for the Apprentice and had heard her conversations with him, so she knew that the Apprentice had never been working with Blue to save Emma. More importantly, she'd been there the night the Apprentice had run off; she'd seen him before he died and knew he hadn't been running from Regina. "What're you going to do?"

"I need to destroy the door to Camelot."

"What?! Why?"

"I don't know what Blue is up to, but whatever it is, she's not acting in Emma's best interests. If I leave the portal open and she finds it, there's a chance she might do something to keep us from saving Emma." Regina let out a sigh. She didn't know how to get to Camelot without this portal, but she couldn't just leave now; she couldn't just leave Robin and Roland, but she also knew that it might be too dangerous to take them with her. She would have to find another way. "I'm sorry, Emma," Regina whispered as she closed the door to Camelot. After securing the dagger in its sheath, she raised both of her hands toward the door. Opening her palms, Regina released two beams of magic that caused the door to collapse inward and eventually shrink out of existence.

Before leaving the mansion, Regina retrieved the books and other items that she had found in Blue's fireplace and hid them in her trunk in the compartment that was supposed to hold a spare tire. She then pulled the bags Robin had packed for them over the lid, hiding the compartment completely. As she closed the trunk, she and Ruby turned their attention to the sound of rabble that was slowly growing closer. Regina turned to Ruby and said, "Call me if anything changes. Do not tell anyone you were here or that you saw me. Got it?"

"Got it."

Regina opened the door to the car. Before getting in, she looked over her shoulder at Ruby. "Thank you." She lowered herself into the car and started the engine. After backing the car most of the way down the driveway, Regina turned her attention to the mansion one last time. She couldn't risk Blue finding anything in there. Looking around to make sure that Ruby was long gone and that no one else was around, Regina used her magic to make the mansion collapse. Then, she lit a fireball in each of her palms and sent them flying onto the rubble.

• • •

Killian sat on the couch in front of the television watching his reflection in the black screen. He knew he had to press one button and then another on the remote to make the black screen light up, but he could not, for the life of him, remember which buttons those were. After trying several different combinations, he'd tossed the remote onto the table, only to realize that there was a second remote on the floor in front of him. At that point he'd given up. He would have to find some other way to entertain himself until Henry came back from school.

When they had first arrived in New York, Killian had decided to try and find a job. However, he soon realized that he was not familiar enough with this world to pass as a normal citizen. Every potential employer he'd met had asked him to fill out an application somewhere called "online." Although Killian had recently learned to turn on the computer, using it was an entirely separate challenge. For now, he was going to have to rely entirely on the money Regina had given him.

He leaned back into the couch, trying to determine how best to spend his day. Just as he was mustering up the strength to try the second remote, Killian heard his phone ringing in the next room. He ran to the only piece of technology he could actually use and answered the call.

"Hook, it's Regina."

"Aye. You're the only one with this number, love. Have you any news of Emma?"

"I can tell you about that when we get to New York. Do you have a guest room?"

"Hold on," he said, confused about why Regina was coming to the city. "Why are you coming here? And who is 'we'?"

"Something happened," she sighed. He could hear that she was exhausted. "Robin, Roland, and I had to leave Storybrooke. I'll explain when we get there. Can we stay in Emma's old apartment with you?"

"Yes, of course." Killian looked around the apartment, trying to determine how much cleaning needed to be done before the queen arrived. Having spent most of his life living on less than sanitary ships, as well as only having one hand, keeping an apartment clean was not one of Killian's talents. He started attempting to clean the kitchen just as Henry walked through the front door.

"Whoa! What's this?" Henry joked, motioning to the broom in the pirate's hand. "I was starting to worry that you didn't know how to clean."

"Excuse me, but I keep things in order."

"Sure, but only by having me do most of the work as chores." Henry dropped his bag on the kitchen table. "I know, I know. 'It builds character,'" he mocked as he plopped down into one of the chairs. "It's weird, the apartment was always spotless when mom was here." He looked down at his hands, losing himself for a moment in a memory of his mother. Regina had restored all of Henry's memories of his life with Emma that she'd given him before ending the first curse, as well as from the year he'd spent in New York with Emma before the second curse. She'd even sent Henry and Hook to their old apartment in Manhattan—luckily, Emma had paid the co-op fees for three years in advance after she signed for the apartment. Henry believed that Emma died in a car accident several months ago on their way back from a case in Maine. Emma had taken him with her and he had been recovering in the hospital for a few months after the wreck. After his mother's death, he believed that she had left her former foster sibling, Killian, in custody of Henry. Luckily, being back in New York, Henry had quite a few supportive friends who were helping him deal with his loss. He had eventually started to move past her death, but every now and then something would remind him of her and it would all come bubbling back to the surface. As far as Henry knew, his mother had been all he had for his entire life before her passing. With her gone, every moment, every experience he had felt like there was something missing.

Killian pulled a chair close to Henry and placed his hand on the boy's shoulder. "I know this has been hard for you, my boy."

"It's fine. I'm fine." Henry blinked the tears away. "I'm going to go work on my homework," he told Killian as he pulled his backpack over his shoulder and walked to his room, closing the door behind him.

Watching Henry try to hide what he was feeling, Killian couldn't help but wonder from which of his mothers he'd picked up that habit.

• • •

The collapse of the mansion had been both heard and felt throughout the town. At first, everyone had wondered if it was an earthquake, but the thick black smoke rising from the rubble made them think otherwise. Charming had run to the scene as soon as he saw the smoke. Although he was concerned about whether or not anyone had been hurt, he couldn't help but feel relieved at having an excuse to get out of the apartment. Although both he and Snow were slowly accepting that Emma was never coming back, they were handling the realization in very different ways. Both of them recognized that, throughout Emma's entire life, she'd been isolated, terrorized, and manipulated by magic and those who could wield it. Neither of them wanted that for Neal, but they had very different approaches for how to go about doing so. Charming had suggested that they leave Storybrooke and raise their infant son in a world without magic. Even though he blamed Regina to some extent for losing Emma, he recognized that she would be capable of leading the townspeople in he and Snow's absence, which, in his mind, made leaving the town seem like a viable option. Snow, on the other hand, felt that being in Storybrooke helped her stay connected to Emma. After all, they had only gotten to know their daughter when they were in the magical town, and being there helped Snow keep her memories of Emma alive. However, the thought of her son's life being touched by magic left her in a state of terror. In the apartment, Snow thought she could keep him safe from the magic's reach. As a result, she refused to allow her son to leave the apartment or her sight. David understood his wife's behaviour, but it was slowly becoming too much for him. He found himself using any excuse he could think of to get out of the apartment.

As he surveyed the charred remains of the mansion, Charming puzzled over why anyone would want to destroy it. Only a few people in the town even knew about the Sorcerer's mansion, and about half of them were not currently in the town. He kicked at the ash, trying to determine if it was cool enough to touch. As he continued to walk around the perimeter of the rubble, he heard the rising sound of yelling coming up the road. He watched as the angry mob moved toward him. "What is going on?" he demanded.

Leroy, who was leading the crowd, approached him. "Regina killed the Apprentice! She's the reason we lost Emma and now she's sabotaging Blue's efforts to bring her back!" After surveying the area, he continued, "We couldn't find her at her home, her office, or her vault, then we saw the smoke and thought maybe she was here."

"If she was, she's either dead or gone." David surveyed the scene once more. It didn't make any sense that Regina would be trying to sabotage any effort to save Emma. Regina had been leaving messages on his phone for weeks now, letting him know whenever she'd found something. A few weeks ago, she'd mentioned having spoken to the Apprentice, that they were going to find a way to get to Camelot to save Emma. One of her last messages had sounded worried, though. She'd said the Apprentice was growing weaker and she wasn't sure if he'd recover. Charming hadn't told anyone about the messages, though, and he felt certain that Regina hadn't been confiding in anyone else in the town—other than Robin, there was almost no one in the town that Regina trusted. To make matters more confusing, he was sure that Blue had told him there was nothing that she could do to help Emma almost four months earlier. He had also told Regina that, but she'd looked so confused when he said it. Something about this situation wasn't adding up. He needed to find Regina and ask her what had happened. "You said she wasn't at home?"

"Nope, and she won't be going back, either. We burned that big house of hers to the ground. We're done letting her destroy everyone else's happiness!"

Charming grabbed the dwarf's shoulders firmly, looking unblinkingly into his eyes. "Leroy! Robin and Roland were staying with her! Where are they?"

"I…W-we didn't know anyone else was in the house. We figured the fire would drive her out, but it went up so fast and no one came out." Leroy was going into shock. Had he killed Robin and his son? Leroy continued to explain, his voice getting more and more quiet as he continued, "We burned all of her hiding places so that she would have nowhere to go. We didn't even think that maybe someone else was…" His mouth hung open, but no more words came from it.

David turned away from Leroy and the now silent crowd. He pulled out his phone, finding Regina's number and calling it as fast as he could. It didn't ring. His call went straight to voicemail. "It's David," he whispered into the phone. He was careful not to mention her name in front of the mob. "If you get this, call me immediately." Even though he knew about Regina's actions in her dark past firsthand, he still felt that Regina hadn't done what everyone was claiming. Before hanging up he told her, "Stay hidden. Something is wrong, but I'm going to find out what's going on."

• • •

A small 'thunk' sounded in the little car as Roland's head finally collided with the window. He'd been trying to stay awake to see where they were going, but finally nodded off just as they reached the outskirts of the city. Regina reached back and lifted Roland's head, putting her folded coat beneath it as a cushion. She turned back to the road, preparing to give Robin directions when they reached the exit. "Are you okay to drive in the city?" she asked.

"I'll be just fine, milady." He smiled at her, but it didn't fully reach his eyes. That morning he'd been rudely awoken by an angry mob running through the streets and howling Regina's name. He'd thrown some clothes in a bag, grabbed Roland, and run to Regina's car just before the mob reached Mifflin Street. Lucky for him, Ruby had coming running toward him just as he pulled out of the driveway, and told him where Regina was. The mob had set the house ablaze just as he turned the corner on the opposite end of the block to drive away. He had been able to see the smoke in the rear-view mirror as he drove to the Sorcerer's mansion. The fire had spread so quickly! If he hadn't gotten out of the house, both he and Roland would surely be dead. He hadn't wanted to mention this in front of his son, who didn't seem to have grasped the danger they were fleeing, so he had waited to ask Regina about what had happened. "So, then. Are you going to tell me why we are back in New York?"

"I found the books." She'd kept Robin up to date for the most part. He knew about her conversations with the Apprentice and that she was convinced that there were other storybooks hidden in the fairy's convent. Robin had thought she was finally beginning to snap, but now he wasn't so sure. "The Apprentice ran away while I was getting them."

"I thought he was too weak to do much of anything, though?"

"He was. He died after he left the mansion and the Blue Fairy found him." She sighed, remembering that her main ally in this quest was now gone. "Ruby said that Blue convinced the town that I'd killed him. She told them that _I_ was preventing _her_ from saving Emma."

"So they burned down our home?" Robin tried to hide some of the frustration in his voice; he was angry at the townspeople, not her.

"Most of the people in Storybrooke have pretty good reason to hate me. It wouldn't take much to get them to turn against me. They've tolerated me because Emma, Snow, and Charming told them to." She looked out the window, not wanting Robin to see how much this all troubled her, and continued, "But with Emma gone and the Charmings hiding in their apartment, there's no reason for them to hold back anymore. Even if I had tried to explain myself, no one would have believed me."

Robin glanced over at Regina. He could see the toll this whole ordeal was taking on her. People had been acting hostile toward her for weeks now. Even though she was the only one still trying to save Emma, no one could see her as anything but the Evil Queen. Life in Storybrooke after Emma disappeared had been so hard for her, and it pained Robin to watch her deal with it day in and day out. Perhaps, other than for escaping the angry mob, leaving Storybrooke was for the best. "I believe you, my love." He reached out and gave her knee a gentle squeeze. Regina stayed turned toward the window. As they passed under the streetlamps, Robin could see the light reflecting off the tear that was rolling down her cheek. "What's the matter, my dear?"

"The Apprentice. He left me a portal to Camelot. I…destroyed it before we left." She swallowed hard. "I don't know how we're going to find Emma now." The sob she was trying to choke back finally forced itself out of her throat. Regina covered her mouth as she finally gave into the distress she'd been hiding the whole day. "How am I going to find her, Robin?"

They drove the rest of the way to the apartment in silence, save the few times Regina had to tell Robin where to turn. He gave Regina's knee another squeeze, his way of trying to let her know that it was going to be okay. Regina called Hook just as Robin was pulling into the parking garage. Killian would meet them at the front gate in ten minutes. After they parked, Regina opened one of the back doors to pick up Roland while Robin retrieved their bags from the trunk. Neither of them saw the man in a dark hoodie wielding a knife sneaking along the back of the adjacent car.

Grabbing Robin's hair and placing the tip of the knife at the base of his head, the man yelled, "Give me the keys and put the bags back in the trunk."

"What's going on?" Regina asked, standing back up from the other side of the car. "Let him go," she demanded after seeing the knife.

"Oh yeah, lady! What're you gonna do? If you want your man to walk away from this, you better do what I say." The man gave Robin's head a harsh tug.

Regina came around the side of the car and started to raise her left arm as though she was going to conjure a fireball. In a truly menacing voice, Regina instructed, "I said, let. Him. Go."

"I'm not gonna tell you again lady."

"Neither will I," she said as she flicked her wrist, igniting a ball of fire in the palm of her hand.

The man dropped both the knife and Robin, and stumbled backward, falling onto the ground. "What—?"

"Now get out of here!" He didn't need to be told again; the man scrambled to his feet and fled. Regina closed her fist, extinguishing the flame.

""Let's get to the apartment," Robin said, rubbing the back of his neck where the knife had been held. He picked up the bags as Regina lifted Roland from the car. Neither of them said anything as they hastily made their way to the apartment building, but they were both thinking about the same thing: Regina had used magic outside of Storybrooke.

• • •

Neal was laying on his back in his crib staring up at the brightly coloured mobile hanging above his head. He rocked himself back and forth with excitement as he watched the brightly coloured figures rotate. After a short while, he'd built up a great deal of momentum from all of his rocking and he suddenly found himself on his stomach. His little arms and legs shot out with surprise as he realized that he was now facing down instead of up. He didn't like facing this direction; it was uncomfortable and smelled like whatever his mother had rubbed on the back of his head. Neal squirmed for a moment, clenching and unclenching his tiny fists, before a bright white light started to glow in his palms. The light started to become stronger until he was finally engulfed by a puff of white smoke and disappeared, only to reappear moments later in the same spot, but on his back. The baby giggled with delight as he returned to watching the mobile.


	6. Chapter 6

Everything in my life has been really crazy for the last several months, so I haven't been able to write much. It's not any less crazy now, but given how frustrating everything has been and that I kind of hate the way the current season is going, I'm going to use this story as an outlet for my frustration. Who knows? It worked pretty well last summer. I've had this story mapped from start to finish for about a year now, I just have to write it!

As for some of your questions:

Q: "Is Blue good or bad?"  
A: I don't know that I would say Blue is either. She's kind of twisted, but it originated in a good place. The same goes for the Sorcerer.

Q: "So this isn't a swanqueen story. You should probably state that in your summary so people don't get the wrong idea, like I did."  
A: Are you sure?

Trigger warning: there is some mention of child neglect and possible abuse.

I do not own _Once Upon A Time_ or any of its characters.

* * *

Chapter 6

Emma awoke from another dream about Henry and Regina. It was as though, recently, all of her pleasant dreams were narrated by Regina. If Emma hadn't been so relieve by the dreams, as they were the only restful nights she ever had since becoming the Dark One, she might have stopped to wonder why it was Regina's voice that played in the background of all of her good dreams. She smiled as she looked up at the ceiling, remembering how she'd dreamed about Henry living in New York with Hook, Robin, Roland, and Regina. She even dreamed about her old apartment and going to the places in central park that were her and Henry's favourite picnic spots. Even if it was only in her dreams, seeing her son's face felt as though it drove some of the darkness away. She smiled to herself as she tried to remember the details of her dream.

"You look rather chipper today," Merlin said as he approached Emma's cell. "Not sure why you would be, though. It seems like there isn't much for you to smile about." He shook his head, shrugging his shoulders and raising his eyebrows in a condescending manner.

"I dreamed about them again." Emma turned her head to see Merlin's response; he was clearly not pleased. She had dreamed about her family every night for the last week and the dreams were becoming more vivid. "They're going to find me. They will always find me." She grinned as she watched the scowl deepen on the Sorcerer's face.

Merlin glared down at Emma. She was taunting him, knowing that these comments would anger him. It was working, too. He needed to do something to wipe that smile off of her face. "Are you sure they'll find you? Why would they even bother looking?"

"They did so much to protect my heart from turning dark, and they wouldn't just give up now. Giving up is not really what my parents do." She kept smiling to herself, ignoring his attempts at dampening her spirits. "They love me and they're my family. They won't abandon me here."

"Yes, because _family_ certainly hasn't abandoned you before," he said sarcastically. Now he had her; he'd snuff out whatever new hope she had today. "Let's see, you're parents abandoned you in that magic-less world—what was it? Three times?"

"That's not fair. They did what they had to for me to have my best chance." She paused, trying to remember the different times her parents had been forced to leave her. "And they only left me twice."

"Ah, but Snow and David aren't your only parents, though. Are they?" He sneered, watching the realization settle into Emma's mind as her smile began to fade. "They loved you so much, but you managed to spoil that, didn't you? Your mother saw what a little monster you were, so she and your father threw you away. What makes you think your newest family won't do the same once they see the monster you are now?" The seed of doubt about her family's love had been planted. Now he could watch it grow like a weed, choking out the hope that was preventing the darkness from consuming Emma's heart.

• • •

 _Many years earlier…_

The Swans were thrilled at being able to adopt baby Emma. The day they brought her home, Donovan and Nora looked into her tiny face and could have sworn that they never had and never would ever see anything quite as sweet and beautiful as their new little girl. They never wanted to let her go. Emma, from that day forward, would always be there little girl.

For two years, Emma continued to be their one and only little girl. They were such a happy family. Every Sunday, they would go to the little park down the street to feed ducks and push Emma on the swings. Nora loved how Emma would flap her tiny hands around as soon as she was buckled into the baby swing. She also loved how Emma would try to quack and peep at the ducks, as though the toddler thought she was speaking their language. Donovan used to take videos and pictures of Nora and Emma as they played; the refrigerator and his desk at work were littered with images of his wife and daughter. The pictures of their smiles could lift his spirits even on his darkest days. The Swans certainly weren't wealthy in terms of income, but that didn't matter much to them compared to the wealth of happiness they shared with each other.

After seeing how much joy Emma had brought to their life, Nora and Donovan were convinced that expanding their family could only make that happiness grow. They believed that having another child would be best for Emma, as well. The other families in the area where they lived were mostly older couples with children who were either teenagers or adults, so there were very few chances for Emma to play with other children. Having another child would finally give Emma someone else to play with and love. They knew, after seeing how sweet and kind Emma was, that she would make an exceptional sibling.

The couple told Emma that she was going to have a sister after Nora was just past three months pregnant. She wasn't showing, so the concept was initially hard for Emma to grasp. Although Emma was too small to remember her time in foster care, she'd heard people mention that she'd been "given" or "chosen" by her parents, so she had assumed that babies came from somewhere else and were brought to their parents later. The two-and-a-half-year-old tried to verbalized her confusion toward the end of Nora's pregnancy, but was reassured that, even though she had come to their family in a different way, her parents would always love her just as much as her sibling.

On the day Emma's sister was born, Donovan brought her into the hospital room where Nora was holding her newborn sibling. Emma looked at the tiny infant's face and leaned in to give her a soft kiss on the forehead. "I Emma. I your big sister," she whispered to the slumbering newborn. "I love you."

Nora started to tear up as she listened to Emma talk to her new sister. "What should we call her, Emma? Daddy said you had a good name picked out."

"Anna," Emma said with a big smile. "Then all the girl names end the same," the toddler stated as she nodded her head.

"I think that's a great name. Anna, this is your sister, Emma," Nora said softly.

The moment Emma met Anna was one of the last quiet moments the family had for several months. Nora and Donovan were both exhausted, and Emma was growing upset at the lack of attention she was getting from her parents. Lucky for the young parents, Emma was incredibly patient and calm for her age. Their oldest daughter was content to play quietly in the backyard for most of the day while her mother attended to her sister. Emma would stay in the backyard all afternoon, content knowing that her father would return after a few hours to scoop her up and read to her before making dinner. Even if her mother and father spent much of their time taking care of Anna, Emma still felt secure that her parents loved her.

Anna, unlike Emma, was not a calm baby. For the first six months of her life, she screamed through almost the entirety of her waking hours. Nora and Donovan felt like they were at their wits' end; it was as though any other stressors might break the weak grasp they had on their sanity. The exhaustion and stress they felt due to their youngest daughter eventually led them to forget about Emma's third birthday. If Nora's parents hadn't come to the house that day, the couple might have forgotten to celebrate it entirely.

"You can't do this to Emma," Nora's mother scolded her after Emma and Anna were both asleep. "Babies are a lot of work, and it's understandable that Emma would get less attention now, but you can't ignore her like you do. I raised you better than this."

"You don't understand how it is with Anna!" Nora knew her mother was right, that Emma had gotten almost no attention since the birth of her sister, but Anna's constant screaming made it almost impossible for Nora to spend much time with Emma. To make matters worse, it was obvious that Emma was growing somewhat depressed from the isolation. There were no more park visits on the weekends because the couple felt they couldn't bring Anna in public. There were no more swing rides or feeding ducks. There was only Emma, alone, playing in the backyard. "I'll try harder," Nora assured her mother, choking back her guilty tears.

Before leaving, Nora's mother crept into Emma's room and crawled into bed with her. "Hey they, little darling," she whispered as she poked the end of Emma's nose. The little girl's eyes opened slowly, gradually focusing on her grandmother's face making her grin. "Did you have a nice birthday?"

"Yes, Gramma," Emma said as she snuggled closer.

"Well, I have one last little gift for you. It's a little something that you can keep with you as a reminder of just how much your granny loves you," the older woman said as she pulled a little box out of her pocket. "I got you this necklace so that you can always have a little bit of my love with you. This way, whenever you feel lonely, you can hold tight to this, and it'll be like I'm right there with you." She opened the box to reveal a small silver ring embedded with tiny clear stones, hanging from a silver chain.

"Wow! Gramma it's so pretty!" Emma reached up to touch the silver necklace.

"I'm glad you like it, little one." Emma's grandmother leaned over and kissed her on the top of the head. "I love you so much, Emma. You're my precious little girl."

"Forever and always?" Emma grinned sweetly with a touch of sadness. That was how her grandmother always said goodbye, so she knew the sentiment meant that the visit had come to an end.

"Forever and always."

Two months later, Nora's parents died in a car accident. Emma didn't grasp the purpose of the ceremony in the cemetery. She had no idea what the small ceramic vases were for, nor why they were being buried. It was strange to her, though, that all of Nora's family had gathered except for her grandparents. Although she didn't yet understand the concept of death, she did feel the absence of her grandmother's presence. She clutched the little silver ring hanging from her neck, reminding herself of how much her grandmother loved her.

The loss was hard on Nora. It was stress she couldn't handle on top of her difficulties with Anna. She started snapping more at both Emma and Anna during the day, and then at Donovan when he returned from work. Because of Nora's new short temper, Donovan would make excuses to stay later at the office, sometimes not returning until well after it was dark outside. A few times, Nora forgot to bring Emma inside and the little girl waited in the backyard for her father to return, alone in the dark. One such night, Donovan pulled into the driveway and, upon seeing his headlights fall on his eldest daughter asleep in front of the garage, finally lost his temper.

He scooped the little girl into his arms, giving her a soft kiss on her temple. "Wakey, wakey, sleepy head," he whispered as he tickled her lightly.

"Daddy!" Emma threw her arms around her father's neck. "I missed you, Daddy!"

"I missed you, too, little one. I need to talk to your mommy for a minute, so can you go play in your room for a little while?"

"Yes, Daddy." Emma started to run to her room after her father put her down, but her mother blocked her way as she rounded the corner.

"Emma, you're filthy!" Nora snapped as she looked at the dirt on Emma's clothes, hands, and face. "Go into the bathroom and get ready to take a bath. Now."

"Yes, Mommy," Emma said nervously before tiptoeing around her mother and walking quietly to the bathroom.

"What is wrong with you, Nora?! She was asleep in the driveway!" Donovan couldn't take anymore of her behaviour. "Are you even trying anymore? I get that it's been hard for you, harder than the rest of us since your mother died, but you _cannot_ do this to Emma!"

"I'm trying, Don," Nora sobbed, covering her face with her hands. She slid her back down against the kitchen wall, putting her elbows on her knees and cradling her head in her hands. "I'm trying, but it's too much. It's like every time Emma comes into the room it makes Anna scream even louder! If Anna's asleep, she wakes up whenever Emma talks! And then the other day, Emma asked to hold Anna and she _dropped her._ " Nora cried into her hands. "I know it sounds crazy, Don, but it's like Emma is making everything worse and I just can't handle it anymore."

"That's not fair," Donovan told her, putting his arm over her shoulder as he slid down next to her. "This is hard, but we'll get through this."

The couple sat in silence for quite a while before the calm was broken by Emma's terrified screams coming from the bathroom. They ran into the room to find Anna submerged in the tub, the last of the baby's air escaping her mouth via tiny bubbles. Donovan grabbed Anna from the tub as Nora pulled Emma out of the bathroom by the arm.

She slammed Emma against the wall in the hallway. "What did you do?! What did you do to our daughter?!" she screamed at the three-year-old.

"I w-was t-trying to h-help," the child said between gasping sobs. "I t-took my own b-bath and was g-gonna give Anna one, t-too. I j-just w-wanted to h-help!" Emma sobbed hard, looking down at the floor. Her mother was furious, and Emma was too scared to look up at her.

"You almost killed our daughter, do you get that?!" Nora was beyond angry and no longer thinking rationally. Perhaps, if she had gotten just a little more sleep or if she and Donovan hadn't just been fighting, she would have thought a bit more about what she was saying to Emma, but in that moment she was too far-gone to realize the damage she was doing.

"Mommy, I—."

"No! You don't get to call me that. You are not my daughter, you envious little monster! That child in there, the one you almost drowned is my daughter!" Nora was gripping Emma's arms hard, making the little girl squeal and try to struggle out of her grip.

"Nora!" Donovan yelled from the bathroom.

Nora sighed, releasing Emma's arms. The little girl ran to her room and hid beneath her bed. "I can't do this anymore," Nora told Donovan. "I can't even look at her." She took a deep breath, calming down upon seeing that Anna was fine. Nora took her infant daughter from her husband. "I just can't, Don."

The social worker came that weekend to bring Emma to a foster home. Emma watched her home and her family disappear out the car window as the social worker pulled away from the house. She cried herself to sleep in the backseat clutching the silver ring on her necklace, not understanding why it was happening, but finally being able to fully grasp the concept of loss.

• • •

 _Present day…_

Emma writhed on the floor of the cell. Her hope was slipping away. They weren't going to come; she was going to be abandoned like before. Something in her refused to believe that, though. Some voice in the back of her mind, the one that chased away her nightmares and brought her dreams of Henry, reminded her to hold on. She focused on the sound of it, screaming as she curled into a ball, trying to will away the painful memory of her adoptive family. _Just a little longer_ , she told herself. _They'll come. They have to come. They wouldn't leave me._

 _Wouldn't they, though? Why would they come for you?_ The shrill, foreign voice of the darkness invaded her mind again, snuffing out the sound of all her hopeful thoughts and leaving her feeling empty. She pulled her knees into her chest and ducked her head. She was so tired, so tired of hallucinating and having nightmares. She just wanted it to end.

• • •

Regina lay curled up on the mattress, not wanting to open her eyes. Using magic in the parking garage had used more energy than she'd thought. She'd collapsed as soon as she and Robin had gotten to the apartment. It had been two days since the incident, and she had spent that time struggling with a fever, nausea, and exhaustion. Luckily, that meant she hadn't had to struggle with being around Henry while he had no memory of her.

"I'm sorry, Emma," she whispered, clutching the dagger. "It's going to be a little longer before I can find you, but I won't give up. I promise." She swallowed back another wave of nausea, not wanting to have to move her achy body from the bed in order to go vomit. "Just hold on, Emma. Please, hold on." Perhaps she was imagining it, but Regina could have sworn that she felt Emma starting to slip away.

• • •

Blue stood in front of the remains of the mansion. It was gone. Regina was gone. The books were gone. The Apprentice was dead. In some ways, this was a good situation. With the Apprentice gone, he could no longer share her secrets with anyone else. Additionally, with Regina out of Storybrooke and no one willing to trust her, she would also be unable to share any of the information that the Apprentice had told her. Blue wasn't happy that the books were missing, but so long as Regina was unable to show them to anyone, Blue was safe. Unfortunately, what the Apprentice had said continued to echo in Blue's mind, preventing her from truly feeling relieved by her current situation. He'd told her another sorcerer was coming. She knew that it was impossible; she and the Sorcerer had made sure of that. For some reason, though, she couldn't fully convince herself that the Apprentice had been lying.

"So, this is how you let them treat my things?" The voice startled Blue. It had been so many years since she'd heard that voice.

"Does it really matter? I'm not even sure why it was here at all." She was tired from all of the excitement since her run-in with the Apprentice, and this encounter was the last thing she wanted or was able to handle. "It's nice to see you again, Merlin," she said, her face forming into a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "Why are you here?"

"The new Dark One is having some trouble." Merlin picked up a piece of the rubble and studied it, frowning at the charred remnant of whatever had been destroyed by the fire. "She's fighting the darkness. She won't let it bond with her. I could wait her out, as the darkness will eventually win, or I could use the dagger to expedite the process." He tossed what looked like the remains of a book back onto the pile of ash. "So, where is the dagger?"

"They gave it to Regina." Blue braced herself for his reaction, more out of annoyance than fear. Despite all his power, the Sorcerer still behaved like an unruly child much of the time.

"Well," he began acidly, "I suppose this is what happens when I leave a fairy in charge of maintaining order. I suppose you never really were capable of doing anything on your own, without my instruction." He stood close to Blue, grasping her chin and pulling her face so that she was looking directly into his eyes. "Was it really so hard to keep everyone hating Regina? I made sure it was an easy task before she fled the Enchanted Forest with that silly curse. Her heart was severely darkened, making it nearly impossible for her to be anything but destructive. I even made sure everyone hated her before you came to this land, so no one should have been willing to lead her away from her dark path. They called her 'The Evil Queen,' for goodness sake! So tell me, Reul Ghorm, how exactly did Regina become a wielder of light magic?"

"There was nothing I could do." She pushed his hand away. "Perhaps it could have been avoided if you'd done a better job choosing your authors."

He scowled at her insinuation. "Where is she now?"

"Gone. She either left or she was killed in one of the fires set by the townspeople."

"So she's in a world without magic? Good. Then she can't use the dagger to influence Emma." His voice started to lose some of is tenseness.

"She shouldn't be able to use the dagger across realms, anyway." She rolled her eyes. Especially Merlin, the one who created the Dark One, should know that.

" _Most_ people can't," he said, his comment heavy with implication. Back in the Enchanted Forest, decades before Regina was born, Rumple had gone to Blue and Merlin. He had meant to tease them after he acquired his ability to see the future, telling them about events that they couldn't avoid, despite all their efforts to do just that. Emma and Regina, he had told them, were 'fixed points.' In every version of the future that he saw they existed, connected to one another by forces stronger than time and fate. Initially, the Sorcerer and Blue had brushed off the Dark One's taunts. After all, why should it have mattered to them? In his frustration at not upsetting them with the news, the Dark One accidentally let slip more than he intended. Certainly there were ways to weaken or change Emma and Regina's bond, but nothing, short of killing one of them, could break it. Together, they would bring about the downfall of the Sorcerer.

• • •

Robin peeked into the bedroom where he and Regina had been sleeping. It had been several days since they had arrived, and Regina had finally started to regain some of the colour in her face. Whatever had allowed her to conjure a fireball in New York City had taken its toll on her. She shouldn't have been able to use magic outside of Storybrooke, and Robin guessed that this illness was the price of her doing so. He cross the room and sat next to her on the bed, pressing the back of his hand to her forehead. The contact made Regina stir and she cracked her eyes open to look at him. "Your fever is down, milady."

"Mmm," she hummed, looking up at him with unfocused eyes. She tried to push herself into a sitting position, but the room began to spin as she lifted her head off the pillow.

"It's alright, my dear. Rest." Robin stroked the side of Regina's head as fell back into the pillow. "You're looking better today, but it seems you've not fully recovered." He listened for her to protest, but, when she didn't, he continued, "Roland is growing restless, so he, Henry, Killian, and I are going to take a trip to the park while you rest. I've left you some food on the night stand and there is a bucket next to the bed in case you feel nauseous." He rubbed her back, not sure that he should be leaving her alone. "Your phone is charged and right here on the nightstand. We're only down the street, not five minutes away, so I can be back right away if you need anything."

She didn't open her eyes when she responded, afraid that the room might spin again. "I can't wait to hear about it when you get back."

"Are you sure you'll be okay by yourself?" Robin felt her forehead again.

"Mmhmm." She opened her eyes to look at him and smiled, trying to convince him that she was fine.

"Alright. We'll be back shortly." He kissed her forehead before getting up and leaving the room, closing the bedroom door behind him.

Regina listened for the front door of the apartment to close before retching violently into the bucket next to her bed. After she finished vomiting, the room stopped spinning and she felt decently lucid for the first time since she'd arrived at the apartment. She pushed herself up and into a sitting position, leaning her back against the headboard. After a few minutes, once she was sure that her nausea had subsided, she turned her attention to the food Robin had left her. It had been days since she'd been able to keep food down, and her empty stomach growled angrily at her. She gulped down the plain broth that had been left for her, still hungry after she finished it. When the nausea didn't return, Regina decided that she would try to eat something solid. She pushed herself off of the bed and walked shakily toward the door. The air felt cold on her bare arms and legs; she'd almost overheated during the worst stages of her fever, so Robin had stripped off all but her tank top and underwear to try to help cool her down. She pulled on a pair of Robin's sweat pants and a sweater, not feeling up to dressing in her own form fitting attire. She wrapped the sweater around her and crossed her arms, trying to keep herself warm. Before leaving the room, Regina turned back and grabbed the dagger from the bed—despite Robin's pleading, she had refused to let go of it as she slept through her fever. She tucked the dagger into the waistband of her pants and walked back to the bedroom door.

The curtains had been kept closed in the guest room, so Regina hadn't seen sunlight in days. When she opened the door and walked into the main area of the apartment, the morning light nearly blinded her. She leaned against the wall, using it to support her weight as she walked to the kitchen. Someone had left a box of cereal sitting on the counter, as well as a stack of unused bowls. Regina sank into one of the bar stools and poured herself a bowl of cereal. She groaned with pleasure as she chewed; finally having solid food felt unexpectedly satisfying. After she finished eating, she rested her forehead on her arm, giving herself a moment to digest. Regina could feel some of her energy coming back. She was so relieved at finally feeling okay that Regina didn't notice the gold sparks that were occasionally shooting out from her fingertips.

After a minute or so, Regina walked to the sink. The dry cereal had made her aware of just how dehydrated she was. She drank handfuls of water directly from the faucet, not bothering to find a glass. She closed her eyes and let out a sigh of relief after she'd had enough water to feel sufficiently hydrated. As she reopened her eyes, she felt a new wave of nausea begin to wash over her. She squeezed her eyes shut and took several deep breaths, willing her stomach to settle itself. Once she was confident that she wasn't going to vomit again, Regina opened her eyes. Perhaps walking had been too much for her. She felt exhausted again and wanted so badly to just be back in her bed.

Suddenly, a cloud of gold smoke engulfed her. As she disappeared the cloud ignited, creating an explosion that transformed the kitchen into a crater in the side of the apartment building. Down the street, the sound of the explosion caught Robin's attention and he turned to see smoke rising from a hole where he knew the apartment was located. He took off running toward the explosion.

• • •

Somewhere in rural Kansas, a loud buzzing erupted from an alarm connected to a laptop. A woman in her late forties with long dark hair ran into the office and turned off the alarm. She clicked on the alert that had appeared on the screen and watched a breaking news story about a bombing in New York City. The bombing wasn't what interested the woman. It was the gold plume of smoke accompanying the flames that set off the alarms. Somehow, someone in New York had used magic.

"Well, well, well," she grinned to herself. "It appears I'm going to make another trip." She stood up from her computer and walked to a bookcase on the other side of the room. Leaning into the left side of it with her shoulder, she pushed the bookcase over several feet to reveal a large metal door with a keypad. She punched in the code and opened the door. The lights flickered on inside the closet-sized room. The shelves that lined the walls were piled high with enchanted object: a crystal ball, potions of different colours, books with ornate covers and written in unknown languages, and so on. The woman placed her feet in the corners of one of the middle shelves and pushed herself up near the ceiling. She used one arm to hold onto the top shelf, while she used the other to dislodge one of the ceiling tiles. From the space in the ceiling, she pulled a pair of silver shoes. She then filled a bag with a variety of other objects from the shelves, before slipping on the shoes. After closing the door to the room and putting the bookcase back in place, she walked out of the house.

In the backyard, the woman had created a large, circular slab of concrete that almost looked like a patio, save for the black scorch marks that covered its surface. Magic, particularly strong magic, had unexpected consequences in this world. The first time she'd used the silver shoes to transport herself home, the cloud of silver smoke had incinerated her family's barn. She walked into the center of the cement circle and grinned, clicking the heels of the shoes together and disappearing in a combination of silver and fire.

• • •

Isaac sat in his cell in the basement of the hospital, listening for the promise of more rioting. He had so hoped that someone would think to check the basement asylum in their search for Regina; perhaps it would have given him the opportunity to escape. Now that Regina was gone, it was only a matter of time before the Sorcerer arrived to intervene. Isaac did not want to be in town when Merlin came looking for him.

Cracking and the whine of something about to break shot through the cell just before the glitter of the broken protection spell erupted in the doorway. Isaac pressed his back to the wall, preparing himself for his death by the Sorcerer's hand. He squeezed his eyes closed, bracing himself, as the door swung open. "What are you doing, Isaac? We don't have time for this."

The familiar voice took him by surprise. "Dorothy?" He ran to her, overjoyed that she was not one of the many people who he thought might come to kill him.

"Looks like a new Sorcerer is coming," Dorothy grinned as she pulled a crystal ball from her pocket. She held it up for Isaac to see. The image playing inside the ball was of Regina, crouching in a corner on the roof of a building. "We need to find her before she hurts herself or someone else." She grabbed Isaac's arm and clicked her heels together, making them disappear in a cloud of silver.

• • •

Since her arrival in Storybrooke, Lily had felt her control over her thoughts and emotions start to slip away. Even the most minor frustration threatened to overwhelm her with rage and cause her to transform into a dragon, and ordeal that always seemed to end in the total destruction of whatever was around her. Maleficent had thought that she could teach Lily to control the magic, opting to take her daughter into the woods far away from the townspeople. After a few months, though, it was becoming clear that something was preventing Lily form gain control over her magical abilities. Following one such ordeal, Lily landed in the center of a clearing, transforming back into a human and collapsing onto the ground. She slept peacefully in the grass having finally worn herself out. She was so exhausted that she didn't even hear Merlin walk over to her.

Merlin carried his Sorcerer's hat in his hand, having retrieved it from the now abandoned pawnshop immediately after his arrival in Storybrooke. He knelt down next to the sleeping woman. Using his free hand, Merlin gently brushed the stray locks of hair away from her face. "My sweet girl," he whispered with a small smile. "Your misery was my fault, not yours. Isaac's conflict was with me, not you." He ran his knuckles lightly over her cheek. She was more beautiful that he imagined. "I'm going to set this right, though." He moved his free hand over Lily's heart, pulling Emma's excess darkness from her heart and siphoning it into the hat. When he was finished, the hat returned into the gold trinket. He stroked the top of Lily's hair, smiling down at his still sleeping daughter. "You'll be fine now, my darling." He backed away from her, disappearing into a cloud of gold smoke.


End file.
